NASHVILLE BRONCS TO HOST ABA FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - by Bruno BaltazarThe American Basketball Association announced that the Final Four tournament will be hosted by the Nashville Broncs in Nashville, TN following the conclusion of the season.

'Nashville needs no introduction. It is truly one of the great entertainment capitals of the world, an absolutely exciting city,' said Joe Newman, ABA CEO. 'And Scott Lumley, the owner of the Nashville Broncs has done a truly remarkable job in putting his new organization and team together. Beautiful venue, fabulous community support, just a first class operation. We have no doubt that this will be one of the best playoffs yet and are looking forward to being there.'

'We are changing the format somewhat this year,' added Quentin Townsend, ABA President. 'In past years, we've had the Great Eight with eight teams going to the Finals. This year, we've switched to a Final Four with regional playoffs consisting of the top 24 teams in the league. The four winners will compete in Nashville. The plans are to have 2 games on Thursday - and then the final on Sunday - with two days of entertainment, slam dunk, 3-point shooting, concerts and other activities. March 19th-22nd. One thing's for sure, if Scott is involved, it is going to be exciting, unique and the best that Nashville has to offer.'

'There were four great cities competing for the Final Four. I can't tell you how honored we are to be chosen. To be a brand new expansion team that has yet to play its first game and to be selected to host the Finals is a testimony to our management and staff for the job they have done,' stated Lumley. 'And we will live up to all of the kind words that Joe and Quentin have said about us and make this the best Finals ever.'

For more information email scott@nashvillebroncs.com, qtownsend@abaisback.com, or visit www.nashvillebroncs.com.

JERRY 'ICE' REYNOLDS new Express coach and Wichita Falls has a new team - by Bruno BaltazarThe Jersey Express are proud to announce that Jerry 'Ice' Reynolds has accepted the position of Head Coach for the 2008-2009 season. Reynolds is a former NBA first round draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 1985. Affectionately known as 'Ice,' Reynolds played his college ball for LSU before being drafted by the Bucks, and later played for the Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic. Jerry was a huge veteran influence in the locker room for then rookie Shaquille O'Neal, before he departed to play several seasons overseas. Having grown up in a basketball hotbed in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Reynolds knows talent, having played with and against some of the best players to come out of NY, and play in the NBA. Prior to joining the Jersey Express, Reynolds was an assistant coach at Weber International College.

'We are extremely fortunate that Mr. Reynolds has accepted the position as Head Coach,' said team President Marsha Blount. 'With Jerry, and returning assistant Head Coach Quaasim Austin, we're very confident that this will be our best season ever. Their desire to win and to be successful, both on and off the court, will translate to the players.'

'I had a chance to work with Coach Austin, Marsha and some of the staff at the tryout,' added Coach Reynolds. 'After working with them, I knew this was a good fit. I am so amped and ready to go. It's going to be an amazing ride.' To contact Coach Reynolds, email him at coachreynolds@jerseyexpress.net or info@jerseyexpress.net. For more information, visit www.jerseyexpress.net.

The American Basketball Association announced that a new team in Wichita Falls, TX will begin play in December.

'What a great fit Wichita Falls is in our South Central Division, and what a great owner we have there,' said Joe Newman, ABA CEO. 'Nick Moore is the perfect combination of business, sports with the extra bonus of motivation. We think he'll be a winner on and off the court - and Wichita Falls is a great city.'

Nick Moore, team owner, grew up in Wichita Falls. In 1977, at the age of six, he began his lifelong love of sports by playing Little League football at the local Boys & Girls Club and ended up being a Camp Counselor from 1984-86. A graduate of Rider High School, where he competed in varsity basketball and football, he received a football scholarship to Arizona State where he played for two years before attending Scottsdale Community College where he played basketball. He also played Arena Football professionally.

In 1993, Nick toured Paris France with Venice Beach Through Youth Organization sponsored by Nike and Coca Cola and was part of a team that raised money for area parks in Paris and touched the lives of several thousand children. At that point, he decided to dedicate his life to help children and set a goal to reach one million kids through motivational speaking. He created the a youth foundation, Motivate the Children, and thus far has reached more than 200,000 students throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, California, Oklahoma and Texas.

In the tanning salon business and automobile business, Nick travels throughout the Southwest speaking to children about staying away from drugs and violence and goal setting. 'We are going to use our new team as a tool to continue to help children,' stated Moore. 'Our plans are to set up some dynamic new and creative programs that involve the youth of Wichita Falls. I want them all to have the same opportunities that this great city provided me and more. We are thankful to the ABA for giving us this opportunity. And we will work hard to justify their confidence in us. On and off the court, this will be a special team.'

Israeli Juniors registered their first win at the European Championship that started in Greece today. They defeated Belgian team to open the action in the preliminary Group A. Ben Reis (196-F-90) and Yotam Shiran (198-F-90) led balanced Israeli offense with 14 points apiece. Belgium got to a better start to the game but Israel managed to recover and prevailed at the latter stages of the clash. Deroover and Thomas Thaey (197-F-91) scored back-to-back trebles to cap the first stanza and Belgium led 24:18. Ben Reis nailed 6 points early in the second frame and Israel knotted things up at 26. Ben Reis and Tamir Ariely (190-G-90) later lifted Israel ahead 33:31 at the interval. Tamir Arielys trey early in the third stanza marked a 7-point advantage for Israel. Thomas Thaey nailed 4 points and Alexandre Libert (186-G-90) added a freebie for Belgium to trim the gap to 3 points. Thomas Thaey added 5 points in a row early in the fourth term and Belgium drew things level once again 53:53. However Israel answered with an 8:0 rally to claim a 61:53 lead with just over two minutes remaining. Thomas De Thomas Thaey and Alexandre Libert shaved the distance to 3 points but Tamir Ariely and Run sealed the winning outcome for Israel in the dying seconds. Tamir Ariely came up with 12 points for Israel in the win. Thomas Thaey replied with 14 points and 9 boards for Belgium. Alexandre Libert knocked down 12 points in a losing effort. Belgium outrebounded their opponents 51:36 but suffered deadly 26 turnovers down the stretch.

Sweden was too strong for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the opening day of U18 European Championship division B in Hungary. Both teams are placed in Preliminary Group B together with Ireland, Switzerland and Slovenia.

After almost tied first six minutes of the game Christopher Czerapowicz (195-G-91) drained four consecutive points for 17-11 for the hosts. After that moment Bosnians woke-up and at the beginning of the second stanza took lead 21-23. Very soon Sweden answered setting the score on 27-26. It was at the middle of the second period when Sweden made important 10-0 run. The game is decided with one minute remaining in third stanza after 5 consecutive points by Persson. It was comfortable plus 15 points for the Sweden before the last 10 minutes. Until the end of the game Sweden didn't have any problems to keep its lead. Winner of this game had pretty good percentage from behind the arc scoring 8 of 16 attempts. At the same time the hosts outrebounded their rivals having 8 rebounds more.

Omar Zaghden (204-F/C-90) was the clutch player for Sweden adding 21 points and 5 rebounds. Andreas Person (188-G-91) had 16 points and 7 rebounds while Christopher Czerapowicz finished the game with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Dino Hodzic (190-G-90) added 25 points and 5 rebounds for Bosnians while Aldin Majstoric (198-G-90) had 12 points and 6 rebounds. Swedish currently has score 1-0 and their next rival will be Slovenia. On the other side Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a chance tomorrow to register first win on the championship against Switzerland.

Turkey U18 scored their initial win at the U18 European Championship that just started in Greece. They held off Bulgarian counterparts in the opening game in Group D. Amaliada saw Turkey winning the encounter 86:82. Enes Kanter (205-C-92) led the winners with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Can Maxim Mutaf (193-G-91) netted 14, while Volkan Incekara (192-G-90) scored 12. Aleksandar Yanev (198-F-90) and Hristo Zahariev (197-G-90) top-scored for Bulgarian side with 16 points each. Turkey grabbed an early start scoring the first 8 points in the game. Enes Kanter looked so good in the game and posted 6 points in the opening tip for his team. Bulgaria scored some points but trailed 8:24 after the first quarter. The game became much interesting in the second period as both teams produced offensive style of the game and Bulgaria could even the game. After 29:22 in the second the teams went to the lockers with 46:37 for Turkey. In the third quarter Turkey held the lead and did not allow the opponent to reduce the gap. Cinko closed the period at 69:56 for his team. Can Maxim Mutaf made it 80:63 and it seemed that the game was over. Bulgaria however did not give up and had a great ending in the game. They produced some runs to stay closed but could not catch up with Turkey. The latter celebrated 86:82 win to clinch the first win in the tournament.

Cibona returns experienced Niksa Prkacin - by Eurobasket NewsCenter Nikola Prkacin (208-C-75) signed two-year contract with his ex team Cibona Zagreb. After almost a month since information showed up, Prkacin yesterday officially became a member of Cibona. Prkacin didn't hide that he is happy after he signed contract with his new-old team. He said for Croatian media that he hope Cibona will make a step forward in Euroleague this season. Prkacin arrives to Zagreb from Panathinaikos Athens. Actually he started last season in Dynamo Moscow but later he moved to Greece. With ex Euroleague champion Prkacin grabbed the title in Greek Championship and also in Greek National Cup. He didn't have a lot of chance to play as he averaged just 3.8 ppg in Euroleague and 3 ppg in Greek A1 league. He left Cibona in 2003 for Efes Pilsen, where he played 4 years. This period was very successful for Prkacin as his team won two championship titles as well as two National Cups. From 1998-2003 Prkacin four times celebrated in domestic championship and three times in Croatian National Cup.

The bad news for Croatian National Team is that Damir Markota (209-C/F-85) most probably won't be able to help them on the Olympic Games in Beijing. Markota suffered meniscus injury in the first round of FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens after what he underwent surgery. According to NT doctors he could start practicing some days before the Olympics but it will be extremely big risk for him. Markota, who played last season in Zalgiris Kaunas, is a free agent yet so it is another bad circumstance for him and his early rejoining to Croatian NT. However, everything about his possible participation at the Olympic Games will be known until the next Thursday.

Kresimir Loncar in UNICS, Marko Popovic close too - by Eurobasket NewsUNICS Kazan announced signing of Croatian Kresimir Loncar (210-F-83) on a two-year contract. Loncar spent previous season in Lokomotiv Rostov averaging 13.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 2 apg for 17 games in Russian Superleague. He also helped his team in FIBA Eurocup with 14.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg for 6 games. Before two years with Lokomotiv, Loncar also spent two seasons in Ukrainian Kyiv winning the title in domestic championship in 2005. Two year before that he grabbed the championship title in Italy with Benetton Treviso. According to the Evgeni Bogacev, president of UNICS, the team is also interested for another player of Croatian National Team. It is point guard Marko Popovic (185-G-82, college: S.Idaho JC), who played last season in Zalgiris Kaunas.

Croatia crush Latvia at the start of the European Championship - by Eurobasket NewsCroatia U18 - Latvia U18 87:70

Croatian Junior National Team posted their first win at the European Championship in Greece that tipped off today. They defeated Latvian team to go on top in preliminary Group D. Mario Delas (210-C-90) tallied 24 points and 9 boards to pace Croatia. Leon Radosevic (207-F/C-90) was helpful with 15 points in the win. Croatia lost the battle on the boards but capitalized on accurate field goal shooting to prevail at the end. Latvia led in the first frame but Mario Delas scored 4 points in a row and gave Croatia a 21:19 advantage ten minutes into the game. Leon Radosevic scored 5 points in a 14:3 run for Croatia at the start of the second frame. They cleared off to a 35:22 distance and looked comfortable at the moment. Kristers Zeidaks (202-F-90) and Martins Laksa (196-F-90) cut the deficit to 7 points but Croatia maintained the gap and were in charge 43:36 at the interval. Celms began the second half with a three-pointer to narrow the gap to 4 points. However soon Croatia posted a 9:0 surge that gave them some breathing space at 54:41. Latvia trailed by 11 points heading into the fourth term. Leon Radosevic and Zubcic lifted Croatian team to an 18-point advantage at the beginning of the final term and Croatia never looked back again. Ivan Batur (190-G-91) netted 13 points for Croatia. Martins Laksa and Lauris Blaus (204-C-90) answered with 13 points apiece for Latvia. Kristers Zeidaks chipped in 9 points in a losing case.

It was a pretty good first day for Slovakia on U18 European Championship division B in Hungary. Danish players faced with a furious first quarter by Slovakians and they didn't succeed to get back into the game until the end. As a reminder, these two teams will together with Georgia, Finland and Hungary fight for one of the first two places in Preliminary Group D.

Ravasz and Ulman were on fire at the very beginning of the game setting the score on 9-13 for Slovakians. During the next couple of minutes Richard Grznar (187-G-91) stepped up and together with above mentioned players created fantastic 16-32 after first quarter. Denmark played slightly better second period but it was not enough for anything more than minus 16 at the half time. Danish players didn't want to give up so they started to play more aggressively after the breather. Bak and Frandsen made some shots coming on minus 10 couple of times. However, Richard Grznar and his teammates didn't let them any closer answering with 57-72 until the end of the period. Nothing has changed during the last ten minutes as Slovakians just extended their lead to 20 points what was a signal that this game is already over for Denmark.

Richard Grznar was a key player for Danmark in this game netting 24 points and dishing out 6 assists. Ravasz scored 16 points while Marian Marchyn (194-G-66) had 13. On the other side Denmark got 13 points and 5 rebounds from Bak while Frandsen registered double-double, 12 points and 12 boards. Nicolas Christensen (188-G-90) also had good performance having 12 points and 5 rebounds. After this win Slovakia will take a rest one day while Denmark will meet Finland tomorrow in Scandinavian derby.

Italy scored their initial win at the U18 European Championship that just started in Greece. They held off Estonian counterparts in the opening game in Group B. A 12:3 run bridging the third and fourth terms proved just enough for Adzurri to celebrate a narrow win at the end. Italy opened up a double-digit lead and withheld all comeback efforts from Estonia at the dying stages. David Reginald Cournooh (190-G-90) came up with 20 points to lead Italy. Rain Veideman (187-G-91) answered with 19 points for Estonia. Italy led right from the start bit could not clear off to a substantial distance. They were ahead by 3 points after the starting period and went on a 6:0 run to build an 8-point advantage early in the second term. However Estonia answered with a 9:0 run to gain their first lead of the game. Italy came back into the driving seat late in the half following a jumper from Andrea Muner (196-F-90). Italy led 32:30 at halftime. The breakthrough came late in the third frame as Italy ignited a crucial rally. Leading by 8 points midway through the fourth quarter Italian team allowed the Baltic team to shave the deficit to 3 points. But it was as close as Estonia could get. Lorenzo Panzini (185-G-90) and Andrea De Nicolao (175-G-91) sealed the winning outcome from charity stripe for Italy. Pasquale Paolisso (203-F/C-90, agency: Court Side) and Andrea De Nicolao contributed 11 points apiece for the winners. Janar Soo (190-G-91) had 15 points, while Kristjan Kitsing (201-F/C-90) scored 13 in defeat. Italy will next take on Lithuania, while Estonia will play against the defending champions Serbia tomorrow.

ESL in Salt Lake City - by Eurobasket The camp in Salt Lake City is the fourth and last event in 2008 Eurobasket Summer League. Three previous camps took place in Chicago, Las Vegas and New York. The list of players, who attend Salt Lake City camp:

Dwayne was outstanding in the three games as he controlled the tempo of his team and score very well using his quickness and nice jump shot.The Budapest team was loaded with talent but Dwayne was the man that controlled the team and step up big when Budapest was challenge.

The Rest of the ESL New York City All Tournament Team:

Calvin Brown (206-C-83, agency: Court Side, college: Norfolk St.) A big man who knows how to use his body extremely well can score in bunches in the low post and draws a lot of fouls.

Fred Harrison (196-G-86, college: Wilmington) - A big surprise in the ESL with his prolific shooting touch and crazy athleticism; he could be a steal for a team in Europe.

Tyler Relph (183-G-84, college: St.Bonaventure) -Tyler is a crafty talented point guard who makes great decisions and can score and shoot the ball. He will be a good pro in Europe.

Andrew Washington (191-G-84, college: Delaware)- Andrew may have been the most talented player in New York and was totally unstoppable with his athleticism, scoring and creativity. He is a big time talent who should go a long way. He killed guys all three games and scored 26 points in the All Star game and dunk and the big guys.

Shagari Alleyne (221-C-84, college: Manhattan) - He was the biggest guy at the ESL and had some bright moments and ran the floor well. He has made some major improvements to his game but still has a way to go for the big time.

Felipe Barrios (193-G/F-82, college: Barry) - Felipe is naturally stronger than most guards or swing players. He did everything all weekend from scoring, rebounding, playing defense, hitting 3pt shots and driving to the basket. He has a latin passport and could be interesting to teams in Spain.

Justin Marshall (203-F-85, college: Iona) - Justin is long, athletic and very talented. He played well in New York and showed why he will keep a job in Europe.

Mike St. John - He dominated the boards in New York and showed some nice offensive moves by taking the ball strong to the basket and shooting jump shots as well. I loved his desire and athleticism.

Eric Vierneisel (201-F-85, college: California) - Eric has great size and can really shoot the ball extremely well and will surprise people with his ability to drive to the basket. He will make a great professional in Europe.

Bambale Osby (203-F-86, college: Maryland) He looked like Baby Ben Wallace all weekend and was like a man among boys with his rebounding and tenacity.

Dwayne Birden (196-F/G-84, college: N.Colorado) -A silky smooth left hand shooter with great athleticism. I love his jump shot and his mid-range game.

Tony Murphy (193-G-86, college: Norfolk St.) -Tony played the point guard position at the ESL but is more of a scoring two guard. He is a great scorer and big time talent for Europe. He showed why he averaged 19ppg at Norfolk State in 2007-08.

James St. Roberts He was a beast at the ESL and maybe was the best big man in the camp. He is athletic, very strong and has a great body. He is a monster on the boards and if any team is looking for a power forward please contact us for more scouting information on him. I was very impressed with him and expect to see him in Europe soon.

Mark MacDonald (206-F-85, agency: 22ft, college: Brown) - Mark has great size and is a very skilled big man with a great shooting touch.

Drew Gibson (188-G-85, college: Wofford) I loved the way Drew ran the team and made great decisions under control. He is very quick and crafty and can score. He looks like a pro already and will be a nice point guard in Europe. He does not make many turnovers compared to the rest of the guards in the ESL.David Ruffin A great shooter with incredible range. He can also take the ball to the bucket as well. He suffered a minor ankle injury during the ESL which hampered his performance.

Cedrick Hensley (196-F/G-83, college: Minnesota St. Univ.) The most athletic player in the ESL with a great body. Cedric has NBA athleticism, size and speed. If he continues to improve his pull up game and ball handling then he is a NBA player.

Ibrahima Thioune (206-C-75) He was unstoppable when shooting his 12 foot jump shot and face up game. A big body player with a great jump shot which he makes consistently.

Kenya Carruthers (201-F-79, college: Ks Wesleyan) He is a nice forward who can really score in a variety of ways. He can post up, drive and shoot the jump shot. He has great ball handling ability and ha s a strong body. He showed why he has played in Argentina and other South American countries. He should be in Europe playing in countries like Belgium or Germany easily.

Derick Payne (198-F-83, college: Bowie St.) A nice athletic body with lots of skills and can create off of the dribble extremely well. He can score, drive and shoot and was a nice surprise in the ESL in New York City. He is a big time talent.

Trayvon Lathan (201-G-84, agency: AI Sports MM, college: Chowan Univ.): All weekend I was amazed about his game; he relentless attacks on the basket and his offensive rebounding. He is long and athletic and did everything and was a major reason why Budapest was undefeated at the ESL.

Rob Igbawua (198-F-86, college: Ft.Hays State) A big time athlete that played above the rim and finished well. He was always around the ball rebounding and scoring and had a great tournament. Did not have great numbers in college but will be perfect in Europe. He was a major surprise at the ESL.

Dayshawn Wright (198-F-85, college: Mountain St.): He was the biggest sleeper in the ESL due to the fact that there was two games at once hurt his visibility. He averaged 18ppg and 10rpg at the ESL but played on the alternate court and the scouts stayed at the main court. He scored extremely well and had some grea rebounding games. He has nice size, skills and an interesting package.

Marlon Smith (183-G-85, college: Penn St.) Only played two games at the ESL in New York but was outstanding with his quickness, scoring and athleticism. A really nice point guard with a lot of talent.

The Salt Lake City ESL began on Thursday - Day one games 1 & 2 - by Darryl ReshawThe ESL in Salt Lake City began on Thursday night to conclude a successful series of thre day tournaments around the USA that has created a buzz in the industry.There has been a lot of jobs offers to a range of players that have competed in Chicago, Las Vegas and New York City events.

We are currently promoting some of the outstanding hidden talent that we have discovered in our events and we have DVD's of the ESL games for coaches, scouts and agents to scout the ESL players.

The ESL in Salt Lake City started last night as the summer basketball season is closing and most of the European scouts from the Rocky Mountain Revue are heading back to Europe and we saw the result last night at the Franklin Covey gym as there were a low number of scouts attending the ESL.

However the ESL has been followed by hundreds of coaches around Europe on-line and have contacted our staff regarding several talented players who have done well at our previous events.As of a result players have been getting a range of job offers due to their performances at the ESL which has been amazing.

In the first game last night we saw the talented squad of Sevilla (Delta Jammers Play to Win) who formerly have won the Summer Pro League in Los Angeles four years in a row defeat a Frankfurt team headed by the former NBA player Travis Knight (211-F/C-74, college: Connecticut) 95-91.

The game was a tight contest until the end when the brute power and inside play of Sevilla was too much for Frankfurt.

The games leading scorer was Marcus Watts (201-F) who was brilliant in the first half but was slowed down in the second half as he finsihed with 29pts. He simply shot the lights out and created off of the dribble very well. Travis Knight looked good and was a great defensive force for the Frankfurt team as he was blocking shots and rebounding well all evening.When he left the court for a brief rest in the forth quarter Sevilla led by the athletic force Ryan Williams and Maurice Spillers was simply to overpowering and edged out a 95-91 victory.Rick Cardoso (201-F-85) for Frankfurt had an outstanding game as he scored 14pts and grabbed 7rbs.Adrian McCullough scored well for the Sevilla team and added some nice guard play as he scored 12pts to add to the victory.

In the second game of the night Munich beat Sofia 109-89 as the talented team rolled to an easy victory to set up the semi-final showdown with the favorites Sevilla (Play to Win) on Friday night.

Munich was led by some great play by all of their players except for one scored double figures. Nick Covington (188-G-85, college: Oklahoma City) was outstanding as he scored 26 points and shot the lights out, played great defense and provided nice point guard play.Isaiah Allen (191-G-85, college: UTSA) simply is a great shooter who did not miss as he had a sweet 19pts as he made five 3pt shots. Kevin Young (196-F-83, college: Cal.St.-Stanislaus) and Nathan Green (203-F-75, college: Idaho St.) were both impressive as they scored 15 points each. Kevin Young is a stud with a lot of talent and Nathan Green showed why he was one of the best players in the CBA last season.Joe Jackson (192-G-86, agency: AI Sports MM, college: Denver) from Denver University chipped in 12 points with some nice drives to the basket and Emmanuel Little (196-F-85, college: N.Dakota) and Marcus King-Stockton (206-F-85, college: Colorado) both scored 10pts and 13pts each.

The Sofia team had three players who were just outright outstanding but did not get a lot of help from the rest of the team.

Gordon Chase (188-F-86) is the modern day era Adrian Dantley and you won't beleive his game until you see it as he is a 6'3' & 240lbs inside scoring machine. He showed why he was a 1st Team NAIA All American in 2007-08 and was NAIA Player of the Year- Runnerup. He has some amazing skills, moves and great shooting touch and is very physical like Adrian Dantley. He scored 19pts and should have had more. Isaac Spencer (198-F-78, agency: Tank Sports, college: Murray St.) and Kurtis Rice (202-F-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Charleston So.) both scored 26 points a piece and are some serios players who are very versatile.Both of these guys looked like they had been playing together for years as the scored inside and outside all night long and they both have talent to play at a high level in Europe.

Later on today will will publish the information on games three and four which were played on Thursday night and publish the complete statistics of all four games.

Cibona returns experienced Niksa Prkacin - by Eurobasket NewsCenter Nikola Prkacin (208-C-75) signed two-year contract with his ex team Cibona Zagreb. After almost a month since information showed up, Prkacin yesterday officially became a member of Cibona. Prkacin didn't hide that he is happy after he signed contract with his new-old team. He said for Croatian media that he hope Cibona will make a step forward in Euroleague this season. Prkacin arrives to Zagreb from Panathinaikos Athens. Actually he started last season in Dynamo Moscow but later he moved to Greece. With ex Euroleague champion Prkacin grabbed the title in Greek Championship and also in Greek National Cup. He didn't have a lot of chance to play as he averaged just 3.8 ppg in Euroleague and 3 ppg in Greek A1 league. He left Cibona in 2003 for Efes Pilsen, where he played 4 years. This period was very successful for Prkacin as his team won two championship titles as well as two National Cups. From 1998-2003 Prkacin four times celebrated in domestic championship and three times in Croatian National Cup.

Prokom Trefl Sopot inks Archibong, Ataman brings Kakiouzis to Efes - by Eurobasket NewsProkom Trefl Sopot announced signing USA-Nigerian forward Koko Archibong (202-F-81, college: Pennsylvania) from Deutsche Bank Skyliners Frankfurt on a two-year deal. Archibong had 6 appearances for Frankfurt last season in ULEB Cup averaging 11.3 ppg, 6 rpg and 2.5 spg. He also played 41 games in German Bundesleague adding 8.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.3 apg and 1 spg. It was Archibon's third season in Germany as he already played for ALBA Berlin and Bamberg. He was a regular season champion with ALBA in 2007 while a year before he was named 'Defensive Player of the Year' winning German Budensleague with Bamberg. Archibong in his pocket also has championship title of French Pro A earned on season 03/04 as a player of Pau-Orthez. He graduated at Pensilvania University in 2003 averaging 10.8 ppg and 4.7 rpg at his senior year. After that he spent a short time in Los Angeles Lakers but he was waived without any official game.

Experienced Michalis Kakiouzis (206-C-76) agreed terms with Efes Pilsen. Interesting is that Kakiouzis already played for head coach Ergin Ataman in the past as a member of Montepaschi Siena reaching the Euroleague Final 4 in 2003. Greek big guy spent previous season in Cajasol Sevilla averaging 12.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg for 34 games in ACB. Before Sevilla he spent two successful seasons with Barcelona winning 'Copa del Rey' and reaching Euroleague quarterfinals. He arrived to Barca from Siena as a winner of Italian Serie A in 2005. Kakiouzis was one of the leading players of Greek National Team which went Gold at the European Championship in Belgrade in 2005. He grew up in Greek team Ionikos after what he spent many years with AEK Athens.

*****************************************************

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U18

Division A. Day 1 - by Eurobasket News

GROUP A

Israel U18 - Belgium U18 64:58

Israeli Juniors registered their first win at the European Championship that started in Greece today. They defeated Belgian team to open the action in the preliminary Group A. Ben Reis (196-F-90) and Yotam Shiran (198-F-90) led balanced Israeli offense with 14 points apiece. Belgium got to a better start to the game but Israel managed to recover and prevailed at the latter stages of the clash. Deroover and Thomas Thaey (197-F-91) scored back-to-back trebles to cap the first stanza and Belgium led 24:18. Ben Reis nailed 6 points early in the second frame and Israel knotted things up at 26. Ben Reis and Tamir Ariely (190-G-90) later lifted Israel ahead 33:31 at the interval. Tamir Arielys trey early in the third stanza marked a 7-point advantage for Israel. Thomas Thaey nailed 4 points and Alexandre Libert (186-G-90) added a freebie for Belgium to trim the gap to 3 points. Thomas Thaey added 5 points in a row early in the fourth term and Belgium drew things level once again 53:53. However Israel answered with an 8:0 rally to claim a 61:53 lead with just over two minutes remaining. Thomas De Thomas Thaey and Alexandre Libert shaved the distance to 3 points but Tamir Ariely and Run sealed the winning outcome for Israel in the dying seconds. Tamir Ariely came up with 12 points for Israel in the win. Thomas Thaey replied with 14 points and 9 boards for Belgium. Alexandre Libert knocked down 12 points in a losing effort. Belgium outrebounded their opponents 51:36 but suffered deadly 26 turnovers down the stretch.

Greece U18 - Spain U18 77:73Greek U18 Team entertained the home crowd with a narrow win over Spanish counterparts at the start of the home European Championship today. The last years runners-up withheld a fierce comeback effort from Spaniards in the second half to score the first win in preliminary Group A. Vlantimir Giankovits (202-C-90) came up with 21 points to pace Greek side. The first frame rally from the hosts proved decisive in this dogged battle. Greece crowned the first period with an 8:3 run to build a 19:12 advantage. Vlantimir Giankovits fired from downtown to start the second frame and gave Greece a double digit lead. Greece used a 7:0 run midway through the period to enjoy a 15-point cushion. However Jorge Santana (190-G-90) nailed 7 points and Spain cut the deficit to 9 points at halftime. Toni Jaume (200-C-90) and Jorge Santana shaved the difference to only 5 points late in the third stanza. But the hosts stayed in front and survived even when Spain came as close as 2 points with under 4 minutes remaining. Vlantimir Giankovits answered with 5 points and Konstantinos Papanikolaou (203-F/G-90) added three more and Greece piled up a 10-point advantage. Spain never recovered and had to surrender at the end. Konstantinos Sloukas (192-G-90) and Leonidas Kaselakis (202-C-90) notched 13 points apiece for the winners. Jorge Santana led Spain with 19 points. Toni Jaume had 12 points and 8 boards in defeat. Greece committed only 10 turnovers down the stretch and sank 45% from the field.

Italy U18 - Estonia U18 65:60Italy scored their initial win at the U18 European Championship that just started in Greece. They held off Estonian counterparts in the opening game in Group B. A 12:3 run bridging the third and fourth terms proved just enough for Adzurri to celebrate a narrow win at the end. Italy opened up a double-digit lead and withheld all comeback efforts from Estonia at the dying stages. David Reginald Cournooh (190-G-90) came up with 20 points to lead Italy. Rain Veideman (187-G-91) answered with 19 points for Estonia. Italy led right from the start bit could not clear off to a substantial distance. They were ahead by 3 points after the starting period and went on a 6:0 run to build an 8-point advantage early in the second term. However Estonia answered with a 9:0 run to gain their first lead of the game. Italy came back into the driving seat late in the half following a jumper from Andrea Muner (196-F-90). Italy led 32:30 at halftime. The breakthrough came late in the third frame as Italy ignited a crucial rally. Leading by 8 points midway through the fourth quarter Italian team allowed the Baltic team to shave the deficit to 3 points. But it was as close as Estonia could get. Lorenzo Panzini (185-G-90) and Andrea De Nicolao (175-G-91) sealed the winning outcome from charity stripe for Italy. Pasquale Paolisso (203-F/C-90, agency: Court Side) and Andrea De Nicolao contributed 11 points apiece for the winners. Janar Soo (190-G-91) had 15 points, while Kristjan Kitsing (201-F/C-90) scored 13 in defeat. Italy will next take on Lithuania, while Estonia will play against the defending champions Serbia tomorrow.

Lithuania U18 - Serbia U18 83:68Lithuanian Junior Team relied on an accurate shooting and a stifling defense to gain their first win at the European Championship in Greece. They took care of the reigning champions Serbia in the opener in Group B. Augustas Peciukevicius (190-G-91) nailed 17 points to lead the charge for Baltic team. Tautvydas Slezas (207-C-90) added 16 points and 13 boards for the winners. The teams kept it close throughout the first three quarters but Lithuania managed to pull away in the final stanza. Mantas Kadzevicius (193-G-91) and Augustas Peciukevicius hit trebles midway through the first period to give Lithuania a 13:6 lead. Aleksandar Vlahovic (193-G-90) scored 5 points and Petrovic added one more for Serbia to trail by 2 points at the first intermission. Lithuania quickly cleared off to an 8-point distance early in the second period and maintained the gap throughout the frame. Lithuania gave little chance for Serbia to deny the deficit in the third stanza and built a 17-point advantage late in the term. Back-to-back triples from Aleksandar Mitrovic (201-G-90) and two points from Bojan Subotic (204-F/C-90) shaved the margin to 12 points. But two treys from Mantas Kadzevicius silenced Serbian players and brought victory for Lithuania. Aleksandar Vlahovic netted 14 points for Serbia. Aleksandar Mitrovic chipped in 13 points in defeat. Lithuania will continue their campaign against Italy tomorrow. Serbia will face Estonia in another Group B fixture of the second round.

Russian Junior National Team opened their European Championship campaign with a comprehensive victory over Ukraine. Thus Russia topped the preliminary Group C. They will next take on Germany, while Ukraine will play against France tomorrow. Russia got to a flying start to the game as Sergey Palkin (191-G-90) and Slepukha teamed up for 10 unanswered points. Russian advantage was overwhelming in the opening minutes as they soon opened a 20:2 lead. Teymuraz Babunashvili (186-G-90) and Andrey Kirdyachkin (204-F-90) capped the first frame with 4 points in a row and Russian team held to a 26:9 advantage. Oleksandr Gudkov (202-F-90) and Osnach cut the distance to 12 points early in the second frame but Russia kept on mounting the pressure and enjoyed a 40:26 advantage at the interval. Sergey Palkin, Grigoriy Andreev (195-G-90) and Evgeny Valiev (204-F-90) fueled a 6:0 run for Russia to open the third quarter and the gap grew to 20 points. Russia breezed to a 61:40 cushion before the final frame. Ukraine looked raw and misbalanced and never seriously threatened the lead in the fourth term. Sergey Palkin paced the winners with 13 points. Andrey Kirdyachkin added 11 points, while Teymuraz Babunashvili scored 9 points in a winning case. Ruslan Otverchenko (192-F-90) netted game-high 17 points for Ukraine. Osnach finished with 13 points in a losing effort. Russia outrebounded Ukraine 48:41 and limited those to just 32% from the field.

German Junior National Team recovered from a halftime deficit to knock down French team in the European Championship opener in Group C. Maik Zirbes (205-C-90) dominated the paint coming up with 22 points, 11 boards and 2 blocks to propel German team to quite unexpected victory. German defense looked good in the first period as they limited French team to just 2 points in the opening 4 minutes as Germany jumped to a 10:2 advantage. Alexis Tanghe (207-F/C-90) scored 4 points in a row to cut the deficit but it was Germany who led after the first frame 13:9. However French players raised the tempo in the second term and the shots started dropping. Jonathan Bourhis (182-G-90) drained 4 trebles in the quarter and France surged to a 38:34 advantage at the interval. The teams exchanged baskets at the start of the third period and the lead changed hands for several times before Lang sealed the three quarters outcome at 57:54 for France with a three-pointer. There were 5 lead changes in the first half of the final stanza before Maurice Stuckey (187-G-90) and Maik Zirbes put Germany up by 5 points. France failed to recover at the dying stages and allowed German team to celebrate the first win at the tournament. Maurice Stuckey had 20 points, while Wolfarth-Bottermann and Simon Schmitz (188-G-90) added 11 points each for the winners. Jonathan Bourhis netted 20 points for France. Alexis Tanghe notched 17 points in a losing effort. German team had an overwhelming advantage under the rims outrebounding their opponents 43:21. Germany also managed to overcome 26 turnovers which was well compensated by 52% accuracy from the field.

Croatian Junior National Team posted their first win at the European Championship in Greece that tipped off today. They defeated Latvian team to go on top in preliminary Group D. Mario Delas (210-C-90) tallied 24 points and 9 boards to pace Croatia. Leon Radosevic (207-F/C-90) was helpful with 15 points in the win. Croatia lost the battle on the boards but capitalized on accurate field goal shooting to prevail at the end. Latvia led in the first frame but Mario Delas scored 4 points in a row and gave Croatia a 21:19 advantage ten minutes into the game. Leon Radosevic scored 5 points in a 14:3 run for Croatia at the start of the second frame. They cleared off to a 35:22 distance and looked comfortable at the moment. Kristers Zeidaks (202-F-90) and Martins Laksa (196-F-90) cut the deficit to 7 points but Croatia maintained the gap and were in charge 43:36 at the interval. Celms began the second half with a three-pointer to narrow the gap to 4 points. However soon Croatia posted a 9:0 surge that gave them some breathing space at 54:41. Latvia trailed by 11 points heading into the fourth term. Leon Radosevic and Zubcic lifted Croatian team to an 18-point advantage at the beginning of the final term and Croatia never looked back again. Ivan Batur (190-G-91) netted 13 points for Croatia. Martins Laksa and Lauris Blaus (204-C-90) answered with 13 points apiece for Latvia. Kristers Zeidaks chipped in 9 points in a losing case.

Bulgaria U18-Turkey U18 82:86Turkey U18 scored their initial win at the U18 European Championship that just started in Greece. They held off Bulgarian counterparts in the opening game in Group D. Amaliada saw Turkey winning the encounter 86:82. Enes Kanter (205-C-92) led the winners with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Can Maxim Mutaf (193-G-91) netted 14, while Volkan Incekara (192-G-90) scored 12. Aleksandar Yanev (198-F-90) and Hristo Zahariev (197-G-90) top-scored for Bulgarian side with 16 points each. Turkey grabbed an early start scoring the first 8 points in the game. Enes Kanter looked so good in the game and posted 6 points in the opening tip for his team. Bulgaria scored some points but trailed 8:24 after the first quarter. The game became much interesting in the second period as both teams produced offensive style of the game and Bulgaria could even the game. After 29:22 in the second the teams went to the lockers with 46:37 for Turkey. In the third quarter Turkey held the lead and did not allow the opponent to reduce the gap. Cinko closed the period at 69:56 for his team. Can Maxim Mutaf made it 80:63 and it seemed that the game was over. Bulgaria however did not give up and had a great ending in the game. They produced some runs to stay closed but could not catch up with Turkey. The latter celebrated 86:82 win to clinch the first win in the tournament.

At the opening day of U18 European Championship division B, Finland was better that the host Hungary. Earlier today Slovak Republic outplayed Denmark 98-67 while the last participant of Preliminary Group D, Georgia, had day-off.

Beginning of the game belonged to hosts as they grabbed quick 8-1 after almost four minutes. Finland opened it missing some quality shots and struggling with their offensive sets but very soon they started to organize things. Finland succeeded to make turn after just two minutes but very soon Hungary answered finishing first stanza 17-11. Sasu Salin (187-G-91) and Tiainen made couple of shots at the beginning of the second frame creating 22-26 for Finland. Very soon Niemi joined these two players which resulted with plus ten for the visitors at the half time. Third quarter didn't bring any news as Finland continues its domination. Hungary succeed just once to touch minus 5 but it was all as Finland entered to last stanza with 48-56. Finland confidently kept it lead until the very end celebrating first victory on European Championship.

Pro A : Market News - by Aurelien Hipp*Herbert Hill (203-F-84, college: Providence) will be Le Mans new center for next season. The young american, contacted last season when Vincent Collet still was there, has signed for 1 season with 1 month try-out.Last year, Hill was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers roster but got injured twice at his knee during the season. He left Providence University with 18.1ppg 8.8 rpg as a senior.

*Villeurbanne has ended the recruiting period with the signature of J.R. Reynolds (188-G-84, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: Virginia), coming from LegaDue. Reynolds posted 17.3ppg 3.4rpg 3.2 assists in the italian second division. He graduated from Virginia with 18.4ppg 4.0rpg 3.7apg as a senior.

German Junior National Team recovered from a halftime deficit to knock down French team in the European Championship opener in Group C. Maik Zirbes (205-C-90) dominated the paint coming up with 22 points, 11 boards and 2 blocks to propel German team to quite unexpected victory. German defense looked good in the first period as they limited French team to just 2 points in the opening 4 minutes as Germany jumped to a 10:2 advantage. Alexis Tanghe (207-F/C-90) scored 4 points in a row to cut the deficit but it was Germany who led after the first frame 13:9. However French players raised the tempo in the second term and the shots started dropping. Jonathan Bourhis (182-G-90) drained 4 trebles in the quarter and France surged to a 38:34 advantage at the interval. The teams exchanged baskets at the start of the third period and the lead changed hands for several times before Lang sealed the three quarters outcome at 57:54 for France with a three-pointer. There were 5 lead changes in the first half of the final stanza before Maurice Stuckey (187-G-90) and Maik Zirbes put Germany up by 5 points. France failed to recover at the dying stages and allowed German team to celebrate the first win at the tournament. Maurice Stuckey had 20 points, while Wolfarth-Bottermann and Simon Schmitz (188-G-90) added 11 points each for the winners. Jonathan Bourhis netted 20 points for France. Alexis Tanghe notched 17 points in a losing effort. German team had an overwhelming advantage under the rims outrebounding their opponents 43:21. Germany also managed to overcome 26 turnovers which was well compensated by 52% accuracy from the field.

French National Team assembled - by Eurobasket NewsFrench National Team officially started preparation for Eurobasket 2009 qualifications. NT head coach Michael Gomez counts on 16 players while 11 of them are debutants. Interesting is that just few of them played at the previous European Championship in Spain. French NT will stay in Vichy until Tuesday after what its next destination will be Italian city Bormio.

As a reminder, France had not so brilliant performance at the last European Championship in Spain. They finished it on the second place in Preliminary Group A with score 2-1. At the next stage France was placed in Qualifying Group F together with Lithuania, Slovenia, Germany, Italy and Turkey. This stage France finished on third position having three wins and two defeats. In the quarterfinal Russians, which later won the championship, were better 75-71. Later Slovenia outplayed France in the battle for seventh place and a spot for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Anyway, France is placed in Group C for the upcoming Eurobasket 2009 Qualifications. Its first rival will be Belgium on September third. Three days later France will take on Ukrainians while on September 10th Turkey will host France. Two best teams from Group C will directly qualify for the Eurobasket 2009 in Poland. Third ranked team will have to continue battle for Eurobasket in Additional Qualifying Round together with five more teams. The last ranked team of Group C will compete in Relegation Round trying to avid B division next year.

*****************************************************

GERMANY

Greg Miller continues his career in Switzerland - by Moritz KorffGreg Miller (193-G-77, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Delaware) leaves the Proveo Merlins Crailsheim after almost three years. The 31-year-old American with Italian passport, who joined the Merlins in November 05, agreed to terms with Sion Herens Basket from Switzerland. Miller led the Merlins in points per game (18.1) in this past season and also tallied 4.0 rebounds as well as 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per contest in the 2. Bundesliga Pro B and was named to the Eurobasket.com German 2. Bundesliga Pro B All-Bosmans Team. The Crailsheim officials are now looking for a replacement.

Ulm inks Dan Fitzgerald - by Manuel Schustratiopharm Ulm announced the signing of Dan Fitzgerald (206-F-84, college: Marquette). The 23-year old forward impressed head coach Mike Taylor during the eurobasket Camp in Las Vegas.After the departure of Florian Moebius (202-F-79) und Bryan Lucas (204-F/C-78, college: N.Texas) Ulm was looking for a new Power Forward who can shoot from downtown. Fitzgerald, who spent his College days at Marquette, looks like a fine choice. During three seasons NCAA Basketball, he made 115 of 284 three point shots. His stats might not look that impressive (just 4.2 points and 2 rebounds due to the lack of playing time in his last season with Marquette), but Ulm is confident that Fitzgerald will suit well and be a fine backup for Jeff Gibbs (188-F-80, college: Otterbein).

Bamberg lands Eric Taylor - by Moritz KorffEric Taylor (201-F-76, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: St.Francis,PA) moves from Leverkusen to Bamberg. The 31-year-old Forward signed a two-year contract with the Brose Baskets. Taylor spent the past two campaigns in Leverkusen and averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest during this past season. He came to Germany in 2006 and previous played in Poland at SPEC Warsaw. He was a Polish All-Star in 2005 and 2006. By signing Taylor, the Bamberg officials reacted to the injury problems of German international Ademola Okulaja (202-F-75, college: N.Carolina) who had to undergo surgery two weeks ago due to a broken thoracic vertebra.

Tolliver to play in the NBA - by Moritz KorffAnthony Tolliver (206-C-85, agency: Larry Fox Services, college: Creighton) who played for Eisbaeren Bremerhaven (1. Bundesliga) in this past campaign has signed a two-year deal with NBA's San Antonio Spurs. The 23-year-old Power Forward had 20 Bundesliga-appearances for Bremerhaven in 2008-09 and averaged a team-high 14.3 points per contest. He also grabbed 7.3 boards a game and blocked 1.2 shots per outing. Especially his performances in the NBA Summerleague earlier this summer impressed the San Antonio coaches.

Germany wins first game at U18-EURO - by Moritz KorffThe German U18 National Team started the 2008 European Championships in Greece succesfully. The team of Coach Kay Bluemel overcame France 81:73 in the first game of the tournament. After five minutes played the Germans were ahead 10:2. The French players stepped up in the second quarter and scored 29 points to make it a 34:38 game at halftime. France had the lead after 30 minutes (57:54), but Germany turned things around in the final period. Center Maik Zirbes (205-C-90) carried the German team and seemed to be unstoppable sometimes. He finished the game with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Maurice Stuckey (187-G-90) tallied 20 points.Boxscore: click

Greek U18 Team entertained the home crowd with a narrow win over Spanish counterparts at the start of the home European Championship today. The last years runners-up withheld a fierce comeback effort from Spaniards in the second half to score the first win in preliminary Group A. Vlantimir Giankovits (202-C-90) came up with 21 points to pace Greek side. The first frame rally from the hosts proved decisive in this dogged battle. Greece crowned the first period with an 8:3 run to build a 19:12 advantage. Vlantimir Giankovits fired from downtown to start the second frame and gave Greece a double digit lead. Greece used a 7:0 run midway through the period to enjoy a 15-point cushion. However Jorge Santana (190-G-90) nailed 7 points and Spain cut the deficit to 9 points at halftime. Toni Jaume (200-C-90) and Jorge Santana shaved the difference to only 5 points late in the third stanza. But the hosts stayed in front and survived even when Spain came as close as 2 points with under 4 minutes remaining. Vlantimir Giankovits answered with 5 points and Konstantinos Papanikolaou (203-F/G-90) added three more and Greece piled up a 10-point advantage. Spain never recovered and had to surrender at the end. Konstantinos Sloukas (192-G-90) and Leonidas Kaselakis (202-C-90) notched 13 points apiece for the winners. Jorge Santana led Spain with 19 points. Toni Jaume had 12 points and 8 boards in defeat. Greece committed only 10 turnovers down the stretch and sank 45% from the field.

EAST BANK U-23 MALES BEAT NEW AMSTERDAM SCORE TWO POINT WINS OVER NA COUNTERPARTS

The East Bank Under-23 males scored A 67-65 win when they journeyed to the Vrymans Erving court last Saturday to play against New Amsterdam sides as the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation Inter-Association basketball championships resumed. The East Bank Under 23s were able to come away with a two point win behind top scorers Tariq Cave with 19 points, Michael Richards with 14 and Rexell Aaron adding 10. For the New Amsterdam team Randy Richardson finished with 12 points while teammates Joseph Robinson and Jevon Van-der-Stoop each netted 11 points.The competition wil continue next Saturday in Linden when the New Amsterdam Under 23 male team clahes with the host team at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court in the mining town.

Three foreign basketball coaches will be here this weekend to conduct clinics tomorrow and Sunday and will leave Monday, compliments of the governing Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF).National coach and GABF official Mr. Robert Cadogan said the coaches will arrive here on Friday and begin sessions for local coaches the next day at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.The team comprises Mr. Larry Davis, one of the coaches of the senior mens team which participated in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) senior basketball championships in Puerto Rico, Allan Ward who coaches Mexican Professional League side Nuevo Laredo Venedos and John Ledi who is head coach of Palo Alton out of San Antonio Texas.In March this year Davis was here where he held discussions with local federation officials and visited a number of basketball courts in the country where he had a look at the facilities at hand. This is a follow-up to that initial visit and according to Cadogan. In fact the three day clinics for the local coaches were originally expected to begin Friday, after the arrival of the team on Thursday. However, the coaches will now arrive on Friday and begin sessions from 10.00h on Saturday where they will have a look at the Inter Guiana Games squad currently in training at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. In the evenings from 18.00h they will along with the local coaches have pick up games where they will look at prospective talent which will involve players at the Under 20 and 23 levels.At the same time the federation is hoping that the coaches interested in attending these sessions will be identified registered with cardigan ahead of the clinics with the foreign coaches to conduct the clinics.

*****************************************************

HOLLAND

Sonny Waaldijk to Aris Friesland - by Fred RoggenSonny Waaldijk (185-G-88) play the coming season for Aris Friesland. The 20-year-old pointguard is loaned from Eiffel Towers Den Bosch and comes from Landstede Zwolle. Waaldijk was in the 2006-2007 season voted as MVP of the Promotiedivisie. The current Dutch-U20 player is after Patrick Frimpong and Bob van den Enden the third youngster in the selection of Aris Friesland. By attracting Waaldijk, the Dutch selection of Aris Friesland is preliminary round. The current roster will be complemented with five foreign players.

Matrixx Magixx inks Mickell Gladness - by Fred RoggenMatrixx Magixx announced today the signing of poweforward/center Mickell Gladness (211-F/C) for two seasons. Gladness is an American center who played last season at Alabama A&M. His average stats for 29 games in the South Western Athletic Conference was 11.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg and 4.5bpg. He achieved All-SWAC 1st Team -07, 08 All-SWAC Defensive Player of the Year -07, 08 awards. Coach Michael Schuurs: In the analysis of last season we reached the conclusion that we had no real shotblocker inside.

At the opening day of U18 European Championship division B, Finland was better that the host Hungary. Earlier today Slovak Republic outplayed Denmark 98-67 while the last participant of Preliminary Group D, Georgia, had day-off.

Beginning of the game belonged to hosts as they grabbed quick 8-1 after almost four minutes. Finland opened it missing some quality shots and struggling with their offensive sets but very soon they started to organize things. Finland succeeded to make turn after just two minutes but very soon Hungary answered finishing first stanza 17-11. Sasu Salin (187-G-91) and Tiainen made couple of shots at the beginning of the second frame creating 22-26 for Finland. Very soon Niemi joined these two players which resulted with plus ten for the visitors at the half time. Third quarter didn't bring any news as Finland continues its domination. Hungary succeed just once to touch minus 5 but it was all as Finland entered to last stanza with 48-56. Finland confidently kept it lead until the very end celebrating first victory on European Championship.

The 25 years old american player likes to play mainly on the position 2 and 3, but can even play as a point guard if necessary. He spent the last two seasons with Tirgu Mures in Romania and put up great numbers: averaged in both seasons over 22 points and 5 rebounds. ' My goal is to spend two seasons in Hungary and help my team to get two titles. I hope, that everybody will be ready to help me to reach our goals. On the internet i saw already, that the fans are really great and like the 6th man on the court.'

'Bryan is exactly the player, we were looking for. He can play on several positions and has been playing great in Europe for three years. I am very happy, that after very hard negotiations we could sign him'' - said Szabolcs Szabot, the owner of the club.

'Bryan, Manix Auriantal, and our hungarian guards - the Fodor Brothers, Ferenc, Kocsis - will give me the opportunity to use very strong guards on the court. I am very hopeful that we can make a step forward and get a title next season!' - coach Dragoljub Krivacevic.

Bryan McCullough was a very famous and loved player in Romania. The team from Krmend was working very hard on getting him, and our client decide to take their offer because of the Eurochallenge competition and the big history of the club! I hope, that Bryan will spend two very great seasons in Hungary and get the chance to make a step into a higher level league! - said the player's american agent, Ian D. Singer.

Also hungarian forward, Gergely Hegedus (198-F-83) signed a three-years contract with the vice-champion team, Krmend. The 196 cm tall, 25 years old player spent the last season in Veszprem (2nd division) and averaged 20 points per game.

NYKK signed serbian guard - by Tamas DeriMitar Trivunovic (196-G-77, agency: 011 Sports) signed a season contract with the team of NYKK. The 31 years old, 196 cm tall player spent the last season in Slovenia with Zidar, where he averaged 19 points and 3 rebounds in 32 games. Trivunovic seams to be a very good offensive and defensive player, so it is not a wonder, that after the decision not to re-sign Buchanan and Mouton the management of NYKK was starting to negotiate with him. He used to play before in Subotica and Bratislava, it will be his first season in Hungary.

Israeli Juniors registered their first win at the European Championship that started in Greece today. They defeated Belgian team to open the action in the preliminary Group A. Ben Reis (196-F-90) and Yotam Shiran (198-F-90) led balanced Israeli offense with 14 points apiece. Belgium got to a better start to the game but Israel managed to recover and prevailed at the latter stages of the clash. Deroover and Thomas Thaey (197-F-91) scored back-to-back trebles to cap the first stanza and Belgium led 24:18. Ben Reis nailed 6 points early in the second frame and Israel knotted things up at 26. Ben Reis and Tamir Ariely (190-G-90) later lifted Israel ahead 33:31 at the interval. Tamir Arielys trey early in the third stanza marked a 7-point advantage for Israel. Thomas Thaey nailed 4 points and Alexandre Libert (186-G-90) added a freebie for Belgium to trim the gap to 3 points. Thomas Thaey added 5 points in a row early in the fourth term and Belgium drew things level once again 53:53. However Israel answered with an 8:0 rally to claim a 61:53 lead with just over two minutes remaining. Thomas De Thomas Thaey and Alexandre Libert shaved the distance to 3 points but Tamir Ariely and Run sealed the winning outcome for Israel in the dying seconds. Tamir Ariely came up with 12 points for Israel in the win. Thomas Thaey replied with 14 points and 9 boards for Belgium. Alexandre Libert knocked down 12 points in a losing effort. Belgium outrebounded their opponents 51:36 but suffered deadly 26 turnovers down the stretch.

Italy scored their initial win at the U18 European Championship that just started in Greece. They held off Estonian counterparts in the opening game in Group B. A 12:3 run bridging the third and fourth terms proved just enough for Adzurri to celebrate a narrow win at the end. Italy opened up a double-digit lead and withheld all comeback efforts from Estonia at the dying stages. David Reginald Cournooh (190-G-90) came up with 20 points to lead Italy. Rain Veideman (187-G-91) answered with 19 points for Estonia. Italy led right from the start bit could not clear off to a substantial distance. They were ahead by 3 points after the starting period and went on a 6:0 run to build an 8-point advantage early in the second term. However Estonia answered with a 9:0 run to gain their first lead of the game. Italy came back into the driving seat late in the half following a jumper from Andrea Muner (196-F-90). Italy led 32:30 at halftime. The breakthrough came late in the third frame as Italy ignited a crucial rally. Leading by 8 points midway through the fourth quarter Italian team allowed the Baltic team to shave the deficit to 3 points. But it was as close as Estonia could get. Lorenzo Panzini (185-G-90) and Andrea De Nicolao (175-G-91) sealed the winning outcome from charity stripe for Italy. Pasquale Paolisso (203-F/C-90, agency: Court Side) and Andrea De Nicolao contributed 11 points apiece for the winners. Janar Soo (190-G-91) had 15 points, while Kristjan Kitsing (201-F/C-90) scored 13 in defeat. Italy will next take on Lithuania, while Estonia will play against the defending champions Serbia tomorrow.

Jordan National team will enter this cup without their key players 'They will have some rest' after the decision of the Portuguese head coach Mario Leonel Palma to depend on youngesters and give them the chance to gain some experience, The team will be leaded by coach Muntaser Abu Al-Tayyeb and 3 stars from the team 'A' and they are: Zeid Abbas (203-C-83), Mahmoud Abdeen (186-G-87) and Mohammad Hamdan (201-F-84).

Day 1 - 7th KAC - by Mohammed MalasJordan 'B' shocked the experienced players in Morocco by wininng over them by 7 points 84-77 in the opener of 7th King Abdullah II Cup which will resume until the 31st of July.

Youngester Mahmoud Abdeen (186-G-87) showed up by scoring 24 points alongside with Zeid Abbas (203-C-83) '21 pts' and Mohammad Hamdan (201-F-84) '20 pts', On the other side, Zakaria Al Misbahi '17 points' tried to do something in the game but no help was provided from his teammates.

In the other games of Day 1, Tunisia won over Kuwait while Egypt trashed Syria 96-65.

Croatia crush Latvia at the start of the European Championship - by Eurobasket NewsCroatia U18 - Latvia U18 87:70

Croatian Junior National Team posted their first win at the European Championship in Greece that tipped off today. They defeated Latvian team to go on top in preliminary Group D. Mario Delas (210-C-90) tallied 24 points and 9 boards to pace Croatia. Leon Radosevic (207-F/C-90) was helpful with 15 points in the win. Croatia lost the battle on the boards but capitalized on accurate field goal shooting to prevail at the end. Latvia led in the first frame but Mario Delas scored 4 points in a row and gave Croatia a 21:19 advantage ten minutes into the game. Leon Radosevic scored 5 points in a 14:3 run for Croatia at the start of the second frame. They cleared off to a 35:22 distance and looked comfortable at the moment. Kristers Zeidaks (202-F-90) and Martins Laksa (196-F-90) cut the deficit to 7 points but Croatia maintained the gap and were in charge 43:36 at the interval. Celms began the second half with a three-pointer to narrow the gap to 4 points. However soon Croatia posted a 9:0 surge that gave them some breathing space at 54:41. Latvia trailed by 11 points heading into the fourth term. Leon Radosevic and Zubcic lifted Croatian team to an 18-point advantage at the beginning of the final term and Croatia never looked back again. Ivan Batur (190-G-91) netted 13 points for Croatia. Martins Laksa and Lauris Blaus (204-C-90) answered with 13 points apiece for Latvia. Kristers Zeidaks chipped in 9 points in a losing case.

Lithuania comes up short against Spain - by Eurobasket NewsLithuania - Spain 66:91

Lithuanian National Team was unable to match Spain at the international Ourense Tournament. Both teams are getting ready for the Olympic Games and presented their optimal squads. The teams looked well-matched early in the encounter and the lead changed hands for a couple of times throughout the first frame. Spain however managed to pull a 22:20 lead ten minutes into the game. Spain used a 13:3 run midway through the second period to accumulate a 51:43 lead at halftime. A three-pointer from Jose Manuel Calderon (190-G-81) marked a 58:48 advantage for Spaniards early in the third period. The hosts soon stretched the margin to 16 points and entered the final frame confidently ahead 71:55. Lithuania cut the distance to 12 points at the start of the final quarter. But Spain answered with a 10:0 rally to drop any possible questions about the outcome. They easily drove to a comprehensive win at the end. Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) and Felipe Reyes (203-F/C-80) came up with 16 points apiece to lead Spain. Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) chipped in 14 points for the winners. Mindaugas Lukauskis (198-G-79) answered with 15 points for Lithuania. Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-G-76, college: Maryland) added 12 points in defeat. Spain dominated on the glass with 40 rebounds against 31 from Lithuania. They also shot 44% from the field in a win. Lithuanian team also sank 44% of field goals however committed 22 turnovers down the stretch.

Lithuanian Junior Team relied on an accurate shooting and a stifling defense to gain their first win at the European Championship in Greece. They took care of the reigning champions Serbia in the opener in Group B. Augustas Peciukevicius (190-G-91) nailed 17 points to lead the charge for Baltic team. Tautvydas Slezas (207-C-90) added 16 points and 13 boards for the winners. The teams kept it close throughout the first three quarters but Lithuania managed to pull away in the final stanza. Mantas Kadzevicius (193-G-91) and Augustas Peciukevicius hit trebles midway through the first period to give Lithuania a 13:6 lead. Aleksandar Vlahovic (193-G-90) scored 5 points and Petrovic added one more for Serbia to trail by 2 points at the first intermission. Lithuania quickly cleared off to an 8-point distance early in the second period and maintained the gap throughout the frame. Lithuania gave little chance for Serbia to deny the deficit in the third stanza and built a 17-point advantage late in the term. Back-to-back triples from Aleksandar Mitrovic (201-G-90) and two points from Bojan Subotic (204-F/C-90) shaved the margin to 12 points. But two treys from Mantas Kadzevicius silenced Serbian players and brought victory for Lithuania. Aleksandar Vlahovic netted 14 points for Serbia. Aleksandar Mitrovic chipped in 13 points in defeat. Lithuania will continue their campaign against Italy tomorrow. Serbia will face Estonia in another Group B fixture of the second round.

Montenegro grabbed victory at the opening day of U18 European Championship division B in Debrecin beating Norway without any extra effort. As a reminder, these two teams are placed in Preliminary Group A together with Czech Republic, Austria and Netherlands. After totally leveled first 7 minutes of the game Norway succeeded to make quick 4-0 run. Thus after 18-18, visitors in this game ended first quarter with 4 points lead. It was a kind of a signal to Montenegro to start playing much tougher. Beginning of the second stanza brought different picture on the court as Montenegro was the team which dominated. Mostly owing to Bogdanovic and Filip Barovic (205-F-90), Montenegro made impressive 20-0 run setting the score on 38-22. Montenegro's defense looked extremely organized which resulted without any point from Norway for almost 9 minutes in the second quarter. Filip Barovic was a key player for Montenegro in the first half scoring 15 points. Until the end of the half time Norway somehow succeed to recover of this fiasco coming closer on minus 11. After the breather, Montenegro continued at the same rhythm touching plus 15 twice. Milorad Sutulovic took care for the points in this quarter for Montenegro. At the beginning of the last frame Filip Barovic brought advantage of 16 points for his team after what the rest of the game was just the formality. Actually Norway come on minus 4 twice but it was their maximum in this game.

Latest market news - by Dragan ScepanovicDELFI SMG Agency announced that basketball players Drazen Nikic (197-G/F-82) , Igor Kunjic (202-F-87) and Zeljko Maricic (185-G-90) (ex basketball players of BC Budva ) signed new 2-year contract whit Basketball Club Mogren Budva, Vasilije Seferovic (193-G/F-85) (ex basketball player of BC Danilovgrad) and Vladimir Boricic (195-G/F-84) ( renew contract ) agreed terms whit management of Basketball Club ABS Primorje from Herceg Novi.In same time new 2-year contract whit basketball club ABS Primorje singed ex center of basketball club Kotor Mandic .New head coach of Basketball Club of Mogren Budva are Veselin Krivokapic ex head coach of basketball club Budva. Basketball Club Budva will not play in MNT1A league in season 2008-2009 due financial problems. Mr. Krivokapic replace on position head coach Mr. Bozovic Zeljko.

*****************************************************

NBA

Nuggets signed Chris Andersen and Warriors matched contract offer for Azubuike - by Bruno BaltazarThe Golden State Warriors have matched the contract offer submitted to restricted free agent guardKelenna Azubuike (6'5''-G/F-83, college: Kentucky) by the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors had seven (7) days from receipt of the contract Friday, July 18 - to match the offer from Los Angeles. Azubuike, 24, appeared in 81 games with Golden State last season, averaging career-high figures in scoring (8.1), rebounds (4.0) and minutes played (21.4). The 65 guard scored a career-high 33 points on November 2 against the Clippers, one of 34 double figure scoring outings. In 17 starting assignments, he averaged 13.1 points and 5.7 rebounds.

The Denver Nuggets have signed forward/centerChris Andersen (6'11''-C-78, college: Blinn JC).Andersen, 6-10, 228, returns to the Nuggets, the team he began his NBA career with as the first-ever call-up from the NBA Development League in 2001. He averaged 4.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 1.31 bpg in three seasons with Denver from 2001-2004.During the 2007-08 season, Andersen averaged 1.2 ppg and 1.8 rpg in five games for the New Orleans Hornets.The six-year NBA veteran has posted career averages of 5.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 1.34 bpg in 258 appearances with Denver and New Orleans.

Rocky Mountain Revue recap from day 5 - by Bruno BaltazarThe Ambassadors were in anther nail-biter today as they trailed for the entire game, and came back again late in the final minute to again just fall short as a shot by Nick Lewis (6'10''-F/C-83, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: San Diego) rimmed out, and the put back by Doug Thomas just missed as the buzzer sounded. Anthony Morrow (6'5''-G-85) again led all scores with 19, followed by Myckal Riley with 17 for the Warriors, and Nick Lewis with 17 from the NBADL.

The second game of the day saw the Dallas Mavericks (2-2) face off against the winless New Jersey Nets (0-2). Mavericks were led by Charles Rhodes (6'8''-F/C-85) 21 points, Gerald Green chipped in 16 points on 5 of 12 shooting from the field.The Nets Jaycee Carroll (6'2''-G-83, agency: Priority Sports) was held scoreless in the second half of play. Chris Douglas-Roberts (6'7''-G-87, college: Memphis) scored 16 points in defeat.Dallas got the win thru their 2nd quarter(27-15),final result 81-66 for the Mavs.

With the Jazz keeping the Hawks just beyond reach the entire game and a final score of 83-78 thru their quick start in the game, the Hawks now have two blemishes on their record and the Jazz are also 3-2 going into tomorrow nights game against Dallas. Acie Law (6'3''-G-85, college: Texas A&M) scored 21pts for the Hawks and Morris Almond (6'6''-F-85, college: Rice) scored 29pts for the Jazz.

Warriors re-signed Ellis, Anthony Roberson in New York Knicks - by Eurobasket NewsGolden State Warriors re-signed Monta Ellis (6'4''-G-85) to multi-year contract. Ellis had wonderful last season with the Warriors averaging 20.2 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.9 apg and 1.5 spg for 81 games. It was Ellis' best season since he arrived to Golden State in 2005. Interesting is that Ellis is a player who got the largest raises in NBA history. He was paid almost 800 thousand dollars last season but he will earn 11 millions just for the next one. At his first year with the Warriors he averaged just 6.8 ppg while the next year he improved to 16.5 ppg. After that season he was named the 'All-NBA Most Improved Player of the Year -07'. Ellis was a member of USA U18 National Team playing on Hoop Summit in 2005.

New York Knicks agreed terms with free agent Anthony Roberson (6'1''-G-83, agency: CGL Sports, college: Florida). The Knicks decided to hire him after he averaged 14.8 ppg for 5 appearances at their summer league. Interesting is that Roberson changed four teams over the past 10 months. He spent some time with Denver Nuggets at the pre-season after what he joined Israeli team Haopel Migdal Jerusalem. He was waived by them in January immediately joining participant of French Pro A Paris-Levallois. Two months later he finally arrived to Turkish team Beykozspor. For 6 games in Turkish D1 he had 13.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg and 1.3 apg. Roberson played 36 games in NBA so far as a member of Memphis and Golden State.

*****************************************************

NCAA1

University of Illinois at Chicago extends head coach Collins - by Eurobasket News

University of Illinois at Chicago Head Coach Jimmy Collins will continue to lead the Flames beyond the 2008-09 season as athletic director Jim Schmidt announced on Tuesday a three-year contract extension for the winningest basketball coach in school history pending Board of Trustees approval.

'I have been truly blessed to spend the last 12 years doing what I love here at UIC,' Collins said. 'It is a great university with great administrators, faculty and students, who have all helped me, and this basketball program, become successful.

'I am as excited as I have ever been about our upcoming season and the young men we have returning, as well as the new recruits we have coming in,' Collins continued. 'I am as eager to get on the court and continue to build this program as I was the day I got the job.'

Collins, who is the longest tenured NCAA Division I men's basketball coach in the state, was introduced as head coach on March 27, 1996. He has guided UIC to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1998, 2002, 2004) and one NIT bid (2003) while topping the 20-win plateau on four occasions, including a school record 24 victories in 2003-04. Collins owns a career record of 194-171.

'Coach Collins has become synonymous with UIC basketball and has become an institution on this campus,' Schmidt said. 'His success speaks for itself.

'He is an excellent ambassador for UIC, understands our mission and will retire as a Flame.'

Collins, the 1996-97 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Co-Coach of the Year, has guided 11 student-athletes to All-League honors during his tenure, including four-time All-Horizon League recipient, and UIC's all-time leading scorer, Cedrick Banks and 1998 MCC Player of the Year Mark Miller.

Last year, Collins took a team pegged for eighth in the preseason Horizon League poll and guided them to an 18-win season and a fourth place finish in the final league standings.

Courtesy of www.uicflames.com

Wright State extends contract of coach Brad Brownell - by Eurobasket News'Wright State University has awarded a new six-year contract to men's basketball coach Brad Brownell ,' according to a report this afternoon from Dayton's WHIO-TV. 'The new deal signed by Brownell extends his contract with the University through the 2013-14 season.' The story notes that Brownell 'earned his bachelors degree from DePauw University in 1991.'

Brownell is 44-20 in two years at Wright State and has averaged more than 21 wins annually in his six years as a Division I head coach. He has led three teams to NCAA Tournaments, including the 2007 Raiders, who had a 23-10 record. Brownell was Horizon League co-Coach of the Year last season and has a 127-60 record as a head coach.

'Brad has done an outstanding job in a short period of time,' declares Bob Grant, athletic director at Wright State. 'His leadership and commitment to Wright State and our student-athletes have led to unparalleled prosperity on the court as well as in the classroom and in the community. His record of success ranks among the top coaches in the nation and I am certainly pleased to have him leading our program and I know our fans feel the same.' (at right: Brownell in his playing days at DePauw)

'My family and I are grateful for the confidence and support shown by the University and we hope we can build on the success we have established,' says Brownell, who was a history major and basketball standout at DePauw, leading the Tigers in assists for three seasons and played in the Division III national championship game as a junior. 'My staff and I will continue to work hard to make this a top program in the league.'

Courtesy of depauw.edu

*****************************************************

NCAA3

Roni Rozenblat named assistant coach at Yeshiva University - by Eurobasket NewsYeshiva University Director of Athletics Joe Bednarsh has announced the hiring of Roni Rozenblat as the University's Assistant Men's Basketball Coach. Rozenblat, a 2001 graduate of current Skyline Conference member Polytechnic Institute of NYU, comes to Yeshiva after previous coaching stops at Gorton High School in Yonkers, New York, Sarah Lawrence College, Rockland Community College, and most recently at his alma mater, where he served as an Assistant Coach from 2005-2007. He has also been a fixture on the basketball summer camp circuit for more than a decade.

'We're excited to welcome Roni Rozenblat to the Yeshiva University Athletics community', Bednarsh said. 'Having coached at three different colleges before coming here, Roni brings to the table working knowledge of local programs and talent, and having worked under different Head Coaches who run different systems, he will be in a great position to help our student-athletes succeed. I think he will be a fantastic addition to our staff, and I am excited for the upcoming basketball season.'

After playing two years of varsity basketball at Gorton High School, Rozenblat moved on to Polytechnic where he spent four years as a member of the Mens Basketball team, earning the programs Richard Goldish Award, given in recognition of outstanding leadership, cooperation, and dedication to athletics. During his time at Polytechnic, Rozenblat also began serving as an Assistant Coach at Gorton High School, a position he held for four years. In 2003, Rozenblat left the High School ranks to join the coaching staff at Sarah Lawrence, where he spent one season with the Gryphons, and was responsible for all facets of the program.

From there, Rozenblat moved on to Rockland Community College, where he spent the 2004-05 season serving as an Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, while also coordinating the scouting efforts for the Eagles. During the 2005-06 season, Rozenblat returned to Polytechnic where he spent two seasons serving the Fighting Blue Jays as an Assistant Coach, Recruiting Coordinator, and served as a Scout.

Rozenblat has worked at dozens of camps during his coaching career, including the New York Knicks John Starks Shooting Academy, the Five Star Basketball Camp, the Bruiser Flint Basketball School at UMass, and the Cornell University Basketball Camp.

A resident of Glen Oaks, New York, Rozenblat received his Bachelors from Polytechnic in 2001 and a Masters in Management with a concentration in Information Management from Polytechnic in 2005.

Montenegro grabbed victory at the opening day of U18 European Championship division B in Debrecin beating Norway without any extra effort. As a reminder, these two teams are placed in Preliminary Group A together with Czech Republic, Austria and Netherlands. After totally leveled first 7 minutes of the game Norway succeeded to make quick 4-0 run. Thus after 18-18, visitors in this game ended first quarter with 4 points lead. It was a kind of a signal to Montenegro to start playing much tougher. Beginning of the second stanza brought different picture on the court as Montenegro was the team which dominated. Mostly owing to Bogdanovic and Filip Barovic (205-F-90), Montenegro made impressive 20-0 run setting the score on 38-22. Montenegro's defense looked extremely organized which resulted without any point from Norway for almost 9 minutes in the second quarter. Filip Barovic was a key player for Montenegro in the first half scoring 15 points. Until the end of the half time Norway somehow succeed to recover of this fiasco coming closer on minus 11. After the breather, Montenegro continued at the same rhythm touching plus 15 twice. Milorad Sutulovic took care for the points in this quarter for Montenegro. At the beginning of the last frame Filip Barovic brought advantage of 16 points for his team after what the rest of the game was just the formality. Actually Norway come on minus 4 twice but it was their maximum in this game.

Fabio named MVP - by Gianni PascucciJust after the National League Finals, Argentinean Jose Fabio (198-F-77) was named the league Top Scorer and Most Valuable Player. Instead, Renzo Ferrari (191-G/F-84) (191-G/F-84), of Sol de America, has been awarded as the National League 2008 domestic Most Valuable Player. The other National League Awards went to Jamaal Levy (206-C/F-83, agency: Priority Sports, college: Wake Forest) (Sol de America) as the Best Import Player and to Gustavo Torres (175-G-80) (America) as the Best 3pts Shooter.

*****************************************************

POLAND

Shakur and Archibong in Sopot. - by David RoguskiProkom Trefl Sopot decided to sign Koko Archibong (202-F-81, college: Pennsylvania). Koko Archibong, who played in Germany [Deutsche Bank Frankfurt Skyliners] last season was averaging 8.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 1.3 apg. Before that he played in France [Pau Orthez] and in Germany [GHP Bamberg and Alba Berlin]. SHakur positioned as point guard and Archibong typically positioned is small forward. Archibong signed two-yeras contract in Sopot. After Logan and Burrell, this two players are the next strenghtening in Polish League Champion.

Opening day of U18 European Championship division B was successful for Polish. Their rival England showed some weaknesses at the early beginning starting with 0-1 in Preliminary Group C. Except of these two teams, Portugal, Belarus and Romania are also placed in the same pool. Thanks to Sebastian Szymanski (182-G-91) Poland grabbed early 8-17 lead. With three minutes remaining Polish extended it even more while at the last possession in the first stanza they created big plus 16. Both teams continued with the same performance in the second frame so Polish kept their huge lead until the middle of it. British finaly started to play much better and through Bradley Wilkinson (195-F-90) and Wallace closed the gap in the first half on 6 points. British picked up where they left off in the second stanza taking 4 points lead at the middle of third period, 51-47. Thanks to triple at the end of it by Sebastian Szymanski Poland entered into the last frame with 59-61. Game is decided during the next couple of minutes when Polish made crucial 13-2 run taking 12 points lead with 6 minutes remaining.

Sebastian Szymanski was totally the best player in Poland netting 30 points. He had wonderful 50% from behind the arc and the same number he reached shooting from the field. Jaroslaw Mokros (196-F-90) also shined for Poland scoring 23 points including 7 boards while Piotr Pamula (190-G-90) stopped on 14 points and 5 rebounds. Neighbour added 19 points and 8 rebounds for British. The losing side also got 14 points and 9 rebounds from Bradley Wilkinson and 14 points and 6 rebounds from Lawrence. At the next day of the competition Poland will play against Belarus while England will meet Portugal.

Russian Junior National Team opened their European Championship campaign with a comprehensive victory over Ukraine. Thus Russia topped the preliminary Group C. They will next take on Germany, while Ukraine will play against France tomorrow. Russia got to a flying start to the game as Sergey Palkin (191-G-90) and Slepukha teamed up for 10 unanswered points. Russian advantage was overwhelming in the opening minutes as they soon opened a 20:2 lead. Teymuraz Babunashvili (186-G-90) and Andrey Kirdyachkin (204-F-90) capped the first frame with 4 points in a row and Russian team held to a 26:9 advantage. Oleksandr Gudkov (202-F-90) and Osnach cut the distance to 12 points early in the second frame but Russia kept on mounting the pressure and enjoyed a 40:26 advantage at the interval. Sergey Palkin, Grigoriy Andreev (195-G-90) and Evgeny Valiev (204-F-90) fueled a 6:0 run for Russia to open the third quarter and the gap grew to 20 points. Russia breezed to a 61:40 cushion before the final frame. Ukraine looked raw and misbalanced and never seriously threatened the lead in the fourth term. Sergey Palkin paced the winners with 13 points. Andrey Kirdyachkin added 11 points, while Teymuraz Babunashvili scored 9 points in a winning case. Ruslan Otverchenko (192-F-90) netted game-high 17 points for Ukraine. Osnach finished with 13 points in a losing effort. Russia outrebounded Ukraine 48:41 and limited those to just 32% from the field.

Dynamo and Triumph wants Clay Tucker, Jorge Garbajosa officially in Khimky! - by Eurobasket NewsAfter just half of the season in Khimky, Clay Tucker (194-G-80, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) could continue his career in one of two Moscow teams Dynamo or Triumph Lyubertsy. One day after arrival of Argentinean Carlos Delfino (199-G-82), it was announced that Tucker won't stay in Khimky for another year. He started last season in Wear Teramo where he was the top scorer of Italian Serie A after 21 games averaging 21 ppg. In February this year he moved to Khimky adding 11.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2 apg and 1.8 spg in four ULEB Cup games. At the same time Tucker played 9 games in Russian Superleague averaging 10 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2 apg and 1.7 spg. Both above mentioned Moscow teams showed interest for Tucker's service. As a reminder, Dynamo already lost MVP of ULEB Cup last season, Henry Domercant (192-G-80, college: E.Illinois), who moved to Montepaschi Sienna.

In the meantime Khimky continued with huge surprises this summer. After amazing signing of Carlos Delfino, the team announced arrival or Spanish superstar Jorge Garbajosa (205-C/F-77, agency: Interperformances). Garbajosa terminated the contract with Toronto Raptors during the summer getting few offers from Spanish teams such as Barcelona and Unicaja Malaga but at the end he decided to put signature on a two-year deal with Khimky. He had just 9 appearances last season in NBA mostly due to injury and not so good shape. On season 06/07 he had important role in Toronto averaging 8.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.9 apg and 1.2 spg for 67 games in regular season after what his name was on the list of 'All-Rookie 1st Team'. He moved to NBA after two very successful seasons with Unicaja Malaga with whom he captured ACB title as well as 'Copa del Rey'. He was named the 'Eurobasket.com All-Spanish ACB Player of the Year -06'. Before Unicaja, Garbajosa spent four years in Benetton Treviso. During this period he won two championship titles and one Italian Super Cup. Last three years were extremely successful for Garba and National Team of Spain. They grabbed the Gold on World Championship in Japan in 2006 while Garba helped his team with 12.7 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Lust summer they lost in the final of European Championship against Russians winning the Silver medal.

Kresimir Loncar in UNICS, Marko Popovic close too - by Eurobasket NewsUNICS Kazan announced signing of Croatian Kresimir Loncar (210-F-83) on a two-year contract. Loncar spent previous season in Lokomotiv Rostov averaging 13.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 2 apg for 17 games in Russian Superleague. He also helped his team in FIBA Eurocup with 14.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg for 6 games. Before two years with Lokomotiv, Loncar also spent two seasons in Ukrainian Kyiv winning the title in domestic championship in 2005. Two year before that he grabbed the championship title in Italy with Benetton Treviso. According to the Evgeni Bogacev, president of UNICS, the team is also interested for another player of Croatian National Team. It is point guard Marko Popovic (185-G-82, college: S.Idaho JC), who played last season in Zalgiris Kaunas.

*****************************************************

SERBIA

Serbian National team today with Ukraine - by Zoran PopovicSerbian National team today plays first game on the tournament in Moscow with Ukraine. 'Before this strong tournament we got two problems. First is we have complete team for only two weeks and we will play against excellent team without one single preparation game. Second problem is clime, because we just came from 1200 meters in Italy and very exhaustive trip. But, all problems we will recompense with strong desire and great mood' said Dusan Ivkovic , head coach of Serbian NT.To the end of the tournament in Moscow Serbian National team also will play with Latvia and Russia. After Moscow Serbian National team will play on Diamond ball tournament in China.

Serbian cadets celebrate against Slovenia in Koper - by Dragan JankovskiSerbian U16 National Team outplayed the host U16 Slovenia 82-58 at the opening day of the international tournament in Koper. From the beginning of the game Serbia was the team which dominated. After first ten minutes it was 16-21 for visitors. Second quarter also belonged to Serbia which after couple of minutes made first double-digit lead. Djumic and Petar Lambic (193-G-92) had very good decisions in offense which resulted with 33-46 at the half time. Slovenia showed slightly better performance in third quarter. Brodnik gave them some hope in this game but his performance wasn't enough for Slovenians yesterday. After 30 minutes of the game, Serbia created advantage of 16 points. Nothing has changed in the last period as Slovenia succeeded to score just 8 points. On the other side Serbians netted 16 securing comfortable win at the end.

Djumic paced Serbian cadets to first win on tournament in Koper scoring 16 points. Petar Lambic followed him with 14 points while Bogic Vujosevic (185-G-92) had 12. Slovenians got the most from Brodnik who added 13 points while Matej Luznar (186-G-92) was behind him with 11 points. In the second round, which is scheduled for today, U16 Serbia will play against Russia. The host Slovenia will take on Czech Republic trying to register first win on the tournament. Head coach of Serbian U16 NT Dragan Vascanin after the game said that he is satisfied with the performance of his team, especially in defense.

Lithuanian Junior Team relied on an accurate shooting and a stifling defense to gain their first win at the European Championship in Greece. They took care of the reigning champions Serbia in the opener in Group B. Augustas Peciukevicius (190-G-91) nailed 17 points to lead the charge for Baltic team. Tautvydas Slezas (207-C-90) added 16 points and 13 boards for the winners. The teams kept it close throughout the first three quarters but Lithuania managed to pull away in the final stanza. Mantas Kadzevicius (193-G-91) and Augustas Peciukevicius hit trebles midway through the first period to give Lithuania a 13:6 lead. Aleksandar Vlahovic (193-G-90) scored 5 points and Petrovic added one more for Serbia to trail by 2 points at the first intermission. Lithuania quickly cleared off to an 8-point distance early in the second period and maintained the gap throughout the frame. Lithuania gave little chance for Serbia to deny the deficit in the third stanza and built a 17-point advantage late in the term. Back-to-back triples from Aleksandar Mitrovic (201-G-90) and two points from Bojan Subotic (204-F/C-90) shaved the margin to 12 points. But two treys from Mantas Kadzevicius silenced Serbian players and brought victory for Lithuania. Aleksandar Vlahovic netted 14 points for Serbia. Aleksandar Mitrovic chipped in 13 points in defeat. Lithuania will continue their campaign against Italy tomorrow. Serbia will face Estonia in another Group B fixture of the second round.

Austria and Montenegro are currently the top teams of U18 European Championship Preliminary Group A. At the first day of the competition Montenegro celebrated against Norway while Austria was too strong for Netherlands. The only team from Group A which had a day-off is Czech Republic.

Netherlands played slightly better first couple of minutes of the opening quarter. Unfortunately to their fans it couldn't last long as Austria entered into the second period with 2 points lead. Beginning of this quarter brought much better performance by Austrian players. After Milos Djurovic (183-G-91)'s jump shot it was 19-27 for them. Luuk Kortekaas (211-C-90) shined for Netherlands during the next couple of minutes and mostly owing to him Netherlands made turn 40-35. Moritz Lanegger (188-G-90) of Denmark took care to close the gap until the half time on 44-42. Netherlands succeeded to keep advantage until the middle of third frame when Rasid Mahalbasic (203-F-90) stepped up and with 6 points set the score on 50-56 for his team. Netherlands had a big chance for a turn during the last two minutes coming on minus 2 but they made few mistakes. On the other side Moritz Lanegger was concentrated from the FT line securing win for his team.

Rasid Mahalbasic was unstoppable today registering fantastic performance 28 points and 10 rebounds. Moritz Lanegger also had important role for his team adding 19 points and 6 rebounds while Eric Schranz (206-C-90) stopped on 11 points and 8 rebounds. The losing side got 19 points and 5 assists from Stefan Mladenovic (188-G-90). Jeroen van Vugt (192-G-91) and Luuk Kortekaas scored 18 points each. Austria's next opponent will be Montenegro while Netherlands will take on Czech Republic.

It was a pretty good first day for Slovakia on U18 European Championship division B in Hungary. Danish players faced with a furious first quarter by Slovakians and they didn't succeed to get back into the game until the end. As a reminder, these two teams will together with Georgia, Finland and Hungary fight for one of the first two places in Preliminary Group D.

Ravasz and Ulman were on fire at the very beginning of the game setting the score on 9-13 for Slovakians. During the next couple of minutes Richard Grznar (187-G-91) stepped up and together with above mentioned players created fantastic 16-32 after first quarter. Denmark played slightly better second period but it was not enough for anything more than minus 16 at the half time. Danish players didn't want to give up so they started to play more aggressively after the breather. Bak and Frandsen made some shots coming on minus 10 couple of times. However, Richard Grznar and his teammates didn't let them any closer answering with 57-72 until the end of the period. Nothing has changed during the last ten minutes as Slovakians just extended their lead to 20 points what was a signal that this game is already over for Denmark.

Richard Grznar was a key player for Danmark in this game netting 24 points and dishing out 6 assists. Ravasz scored 16 points while Marian Marchyn (194-G-66) had 13. On the other side Denmark got 13 points and 5 rebounds from Bak while Frandsen registered double-double, 12 points and 12 boards. Nicolas Christensen (188-G-90) also had good performance having 12 points and 5 rebounds. After this win Slovakia will take a rest one day while Denmark will meet Finland tomorrow in Scandinavian derby.

Vujacic and Lakers agree on three-year, $15-milion deal - by Zeljko ZuleOne day after threatening to bolt the Lakers to play for a team in Russia unless he received a multiyear deal for $5 million a season, reserve guard Alexander Vujacic (200-G-84) Vujacic got his wish, reaching a verbal agreement on a three-year, $15-million deal.'Alexander Vujacic will stay with the Lakers,' said his agent, Rob Pelinka, 'and play a pivotal role in hopefully bringing a title to the team next season.'Vujacic, a restricted free agent who made $1.76 million last season, was given a qualifying offer of $2.6 million by the Lakers before the start of the free-agency period to retain his rights. He did not sign an offer sheet with another team. Pelinka and Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak had been in negotiations for several weeks. According to an NBA source who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Lakers had already made an offer close to the amount Vujacic had been seeking before Thursday's revelation that the four-year NBA veteran was looking overseas.Vujacic had been hoping for a contract in the four- to six-year range. He averaged 8.8 points in 17.2 minutes during the regular season and shot 45.4% from the field, including 43.7% from three-point range. In the playoffs, he averaged 21.7 minutes, 8.1 points and shot 39.9%, including 39.2% from beyond the three-point arc.Source: Los Angeles Times

*****************************************************

SPAIN

ACB Rocked As CB Girona Withdraw From League - by Paul NilsenBoth Akasvayu Girona and MMT Estudiantes were subject of whispers during the summer that they were both in deep in financial trouble and that their ACB status was being threatened. Just hours after MMT as principle sponsor of Estduinates pledged their continued financial support, the silence from Catalunya from struggling Akasvayu, a construction company said it all writes www.acb-basket.com

As a result, Girona have announced that they can no longer compete in the ACB for 2008/09 and one can only presume that their very existence is now threatened. A global credit crunch can be blamed but it is hardly a glowing advertisement for clubs entering European competition with Girona having made it to the ULEB Cup final.

The news of Gironas demise will rock not only Spanish basketball to its foundations but also European basketball with Girona having had that great run in competition. While some say that with such hig player salaries in such a credit crunch that casualties will be inevitable, what of the fans though? Perhaps it is time that basketball tightened its belt generally and start reigning back spiralling costs.

But not exactly easy when at the other end of the Spectrum, Euroleague are pushing the commercial buttons for the privileged few.Can you blame them? They have a product they feel is successful.

Ultimately during these difficult financial times, both on and off the court, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. In fact those in between are getting poorer too.

News to follow on whether anyone will make a bid to replace Girona in the top flight.

Greek U18 Team entertained the home crowd with a narrow win over Spanish counterparts at the start of the home European Championship today. The last years runners-up withheld a fierce comeback effort from Spaniards in the second half to score the first win in preliminary Group A. Vlantimir Giankovits (202-C-90) came up with 21 points to pace Greek side. The first frame rally from the hosts proved decisive in this dogged battle. Greece crowned the first period with an 8:3 run to build a 19:12 advantage. Vlantimir Giankovits fired from downtown to start the second frame and gave Greece a double digit lead. Greece used a 7:0 run midway through the period to enjoy a 15-point cushion. However Jorge Santana (190-G-90) nailed 7 points and Spain cut the deficit to 9 points at halftime. Toni Jaume (200-C-90) and Jorge Santana shaved the difference to only 5 points late in the third stanza. But the hosts stayed in front and survived even when Spain came as close as 2 points with under 4 minutes remaining. Vlantimir Giankovits answered with 5 points and Konstantinos Papanikolaou (203-F/G-90) added three more and Greece piled up a 10-point advantage. Spain never recovered and had to surrender at the end. Konstantinos Sloukas (192-G-90) and Leonidas Kaselakis (202-C-90) notched 13 points apiece for the winners. Jorge Santana led Spain with 19 points. Toni Jaume had 12 points and 8 boards in defeat. Greece committed only 10 turnovers down the stretch and sank 45% from the field.

Spain Impress But Russia Have More Problems - And That Is Just Their Uniform - by Paul Nilsen

The Spanish national team continue to impress during their Olympic warm-up after collecting a clutch of friendly victories on home soil against Russia, Lithuania, Argentina and Portugal (so far).

The latest victory, their fourth in succession coming in Ourense as they caned Lithuania by 25 points picking up a 91-66 success. A solid defensive performance and the usual flair in attack summarised another good display with the final quarter showing why the World champion and European runners up want to add a gold Olympic medal to their trophy cabinet. Felipe Reyes and Rudy Fernandez both ended the game with 16 points.

While still in the middle of a fortnight or so of intense fixtures against some of their likely medal rival in Beijing, it was hard not to be particularly impressed at the way that Aito and his players dismantled their Eurobasket conquerors Russia earlier this week writes www.acb-basket.com

While we are not quite singing A Por Ellos just yet during games from the sofa in front of the television, it is hard not to get excited at the way that Spain are looking ahead of the Olympics and Beijing. We know they are FIBA World Champions and we know that they should really be Eurobasket champions too but for one under-par performance and JR Holden.

The way that they completely dismantled and crushed Russia looks to me to be very important. Friendlies in any sport are normally exactly that. In the other games Spain have cruised with the exception of Argentina, but they still won and kept their record in tact.

The key to that Russia game is that Spain owed Russia from last year and they put that anger or perhaps loss of pride at stake - even though it was only a warm-up game. It meant something to the Spanish, just as it will in Beijing obviously.

The results are looking breathtaking, as is the roster. New boy Ricard Rubio (192-G-90) comes on board and impresses, now looking less like the boy and more like a man ready for the International stage.

By the end of that Russia game, Coach Blatt, Holden and Kirilenko looked particularly dismayed. Perhaps it was only right. I mean forget the performance and the result their real horror came from wearing a truly awful kit. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible

Who can believe that the person with absolutely no fashion sense who used to choose the tracksuits of Boris Yeltsin was allowed to design the new Russia uniform?

It was certainly more frightening that anything Russia had to offer from a playing perspective.

As Spanish hopes continue to rise, their strength in depth is phenomenal and arguably on a par with anybody else in the competition. Crucially they have the man at the helm who seems to be able to handle and rotate a deep squad effectively in Aito. We continue to watch with interest and with excited anticipation.

Not just for the forthcoming displays of the Spanish team in the Olympics, but also to see if someone can do us all a favour and hide that Russia uniform.

Sweden was too strong for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the opening day of U18 European Championship division B in Hungary. Both teams are placed in Preliminary Group B together with Ireland, Switzerland and Slovenia.

After almost tied first six minutes of the game Christopher Czerapowicz (195-G-91) drained four consecutive points for 17-11 for the hosts. After that moment Bosnians woke-up and at the beginning of the second stanza took lead 21-23. Very soon Sweden answered setting the score on 27-26. It was at the middle of the second period when Sweden made important 10-0 run. The game is decided with one minute remaining in third stanza after 5 consecutive points by Persson. It was comfortable plus 15 points for the Sweden before the last 10 minutes. Until the end of the game Sweden didn't have any problems to keep its lead. Winner of this game had pretty good percentage from behind the arc scoring 8 of 16 attempts. At the same time the hosts outrebounded their rivals having 8 rebounds more.

Omar Zaghden (204-F/C-90) was the clutch player for Sweden adding 21 points and 5 rebounds. Andreas Person (188-G-91) had 16 points and 7 rebounds while Christopher Czerapowicz finished the game with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Dino Hodzic (190-G-90) added 25 points and 5 rebounds for Bosnians while Aldin Majstoric (198-G-90) had 12 points and 6 rebounds. Swedish currently has score 1-0 and their next rival will be Slovenia. On the other side Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a chance tomorrow to register first win on the championship against Switzerland.

CTBA extends Korean head coach for two years - by Chris WangCTBA (Chinese Taipei Basketball Association) President Wang Jen-da said yesterday that the association has reached a decision to extend Korean head coach Chung Kwang-Suk for another two years with Taiwan men's national team until 2010 amid criticism over Chung's performance.

Under Chung, Taiwan NT finished an all-time worst last place in the eight-team 2008 Jones Cup tournament. However, Chung led Taiwan NT to the sixth-place in the 2007 Asian Championship, Taiwan's best finish in years.

Fans and media criticized Chung for his in-game substitutions, rotations and his communication with players since Chung doesn't speak Mandarin and has to go through a translator to communicate with players.

Personally, I support CTBA's decision. Taiwan NT was without almost all its core players -- including Chen Hsin-an, Tien Lei, Lin Chih-chieh, Wu Tai-hao, Tseng Wen-ting and Ho Shou-cheng -- in the Jones Cup. The Jones Cup team was quickly assembled and was at best a second national team.

For Chung's six-man rotation in the Asian Championship last year, he said that he would only put those players who can play on the court. And I support that. On top of that, Chung knew he had to do well in the AC to convince the CTBA about his ability to lead.

Taiwan's zone defense did improve under Chung. At least that's my observation. But it's important for him to be able to spend more time with the players and observe Taiwanese basketball. It will be difficult as the SBL season lasts six months and most players have to play for their college team in the university league.

Wang also said yesterday that Cheng Chih-lung, Chou Jun-san, Chiu Ta-tsun and Hsu Chin-tse will be young coaches the CTBA looked to develop in the future.

Taiwan will field two national teams in the Jones Cup next year, he said.

Chung led Korea NT to 1997 Asian Championship title, which remained to this day the only time Korea had defeated China in the Asian Championship in the last 40 years, and an appearance in 1998 World Championship, finishing 16th among 16 teams.

One interesting thing though, the ticket price for the Legends Games will range between NT$ 4,000-8,000 (USD$131-263). I'm wondering will anyone actually buy the tickets to watch these guys play? I mean, these players were all great players, but the ticket prices are simply too high for kids and middle-class fans.

Turkey U18 scored their initial win at the U18 European Championship that just started in Greece. They held off Bulgarian counterparts in the opening game in Group D. Amaliada saw Turkey winning the encounter 86:82. Enes Kanter (205-C-92) led the winners with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Can Maxim Mutaf (193-G-91) netted 14, while Volkan Incekara (192-G-90) scored 12. Aleksandar Yanev (198-F-90) and Hristo Zahariev (197-G-90) top-scored for Bulgarian side with 16 points each. Turkey grabbed an early start scoring the first 8 points in the game. Enes Kanter looked so good in the game and posted 6 points in the opening tip for his team. Bulgaria scored some points but trailed 8:24 after the first quarter. The game became much interesting in the second period as both teams produced offensive style of the game and Bulgaria could even the game. After 29:22 in the second the teams went to the lockers with 46:37 for Turkey. In the third quarter Turkey held the lead and did not allow the opponent to reduce the gap. Cinko closed the period at 69:56 for his team. Can Maxim Mutaf made it 80:63 and it seemed that the game was over. Bulgaria however did not give up and had a great ending in the game. They produced some runs to stay closed but could not catch up with Turkey. The latter celebrated 86:82 win to clinch the first win in the tournament.

Guidance Knocks Ujima Out of Playoffs, 84-82 - by David EdoleThe Choices Basketball Association summer league regular season ended last night in the St. Croix Central gym with Guidance beating Ujima, 84-82 -- a game Ujima had to win to make the playoffs. Ujima played another great game, only to see their postseason hopes disappear in the last minute. Guidance used a 10-point first quarter by Lloyd Gilbert to outscore Ujima, 21-16. Ujima, led by 10 points from their own Jahreem Williams, stormed back in the second quarter to get the lead and held a five point lead at 42-37 with 1:50 left in the half. Guidance would score the last five points of the half, however, and the teams went into the locker room with the score knotted at 42. In what turned out to be a game of runs, Guidance exploded out of the gates to start the second half with an 11-0 run to lead 53-42. Ujima then outscored Guidance 18-15 the rest of the third quarter to come within eight points at 68-60. Ryan Rawlins led Guidance with 11 third-quarter points that included a pair of threes. Ujima opened up the final quarter on a 15-5 last gasp run to take their first lead of the second half at 75-73 with 4 minutes left in the game. Back came Guidance with seven straight points by Quenton Guirty to retake the lead at 80-75. With the score at 80-79 and 1:23 left in the game Glen Phillips scored on a layup to give Ujima the lead at 81-80, delighting a crowd eager to witness the upset. But Guirty scored on Guidance's next possession. And Ujima again became unglued with the game on the line. A costly turnover by Ujima on the inbounds allowed Guidance to score and push the lead to three at 84-81. A late free throw by Ujima made the final score 84-82. Guirty led five Guidance players in double figures with 17 points, Nigel Bridgewater netted 16, Rawlings scored 15 and Gilbert and Richard Isles chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively. For Ujima, Williams finished with a game-high 21 points, Lakeshawn Graham knocked down 17, and Phillips and Kassim Smith finished with 12 and 11 points respectively. The playoff gets under way at the St. Croix Central High gym on Monday.

by Dave Davis

ABA Men's Summer Basketball League Championship - by David EdoleJah Youths win Game 1 of title series

ST. THOMAS - Jah Youths began the ABA Men's Summer Basketball League Championships Series with a bang on Thursday night at the BCB gym as they battled to an 85-77 win over the defending champion and heavily favored Jam Squad, 85-77.

Jamari Maduro was the Jah Youths' leading scorer with 38 points. He also added 10 rebounds and two assists. Also leading the way for Jah Youths were Jeff Roberts (202-F/C-77, college: Spoon River JC) with 26 points and 18 rebounds, and Jabahri Brown (209-F/C-79, college: Oklahoma) with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Zach Coffelt led the team in assists with 4, followed by Sheldon Beausoliel with 3.

Jam Squad's top scorer was Akil Lewis (183-G-82, college: Lynn) with 30 points. He also added 8 assists to the tally. Dewitt Henley was second on the team in scoring with 11 points while adding 10 rebounds, and Mario Caines was third in scoring with 10 points. Devon Lewis' 11 rebounds led the team, while Calvert White (191-G/F-75, college: SE Missouri St.) added six. Steve Gardner (170-G-85, college: J.and Wales (FL)) also contributed 6 assists followed by Malik Hodge with two.

Game 2 of the best-of-5 series is tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the BCB gym.

Championship Series Game Schedule

(All Games at the BCB gym)

Game 2 - Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

Game 3 - Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Game 4 - Monday, 7:30 p.m.

Game 5 - Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

By KEMP CALLWOOD

Could Elegar be NBA bound? - by David EdoleWhat was Frank Elegar's biggest hurdle at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas? How about adjusting to Pacific Standard Time?

But while Elegar never seemed to get truly acclimated to waking up at what he thought was the crack of dawn every morning, one thing he did get accustomed to was life as an unknown, up-and-comer trying to make a name for himself in front of scouts, general managers and the competition.

'It always helps when guys come in the game sleeping on you, and then you do something unexpected and earn some type of respect,' Elegar said. 'I've been under the radar my whole life so I'm used to it.'

From being a role player and averaging just six points and six rebounds at St. Raymond's High School in the Bronx, N.Y.; to not being heavily recruited; to having a very raw overall game and finally coming from a mid-major program like Drexel, Elegar has been proving those who doubted his ability wrong with regularity.

And although he goes about his business with a rather quiet confidence, it didn't take Elegar very long to earn a name for himself and the respect from those around him.

In his first game as a member of the Washington Wizards summer league team on July 14 at Cox Pavilion against the Portland Trailblazers, Elegar poured in 10 points, including eight straight to start the second quarter, and grabbed four rebounds in just over 15 minutes of action.

The 21-year-old, an undersized power forward by NBA standards, went on to average four points and 2.2 rebounds during the five-game schedule.

He shot an astoundingly proficient 70 percent from the field including a 4-for-4 effort in his final summer league game July 20 versus the Phoenix Suns, but converted on just 50 percent of his free throws. But in spite of his relatively successful summer stint, Elegar believes he still has a long way to go to get to where he wants to be.

'I feel I need improvement everywhere,' he said. 'You can never be satisfied with where you are at.'

It was that attitude that may have endeared Elegar with his 'veteran' teammates like Nick Young and Andray Blatche, who not only helped him become more comfortable in his unfamiliar surroundings, but also allowed him to pick their brains on what NBA life is really like.

'Playing with the vets on the team gave me a taste of what NBA life is like,' Elegar said. 'They helped me out whenever I had questions and made me feel comfortable to be on the court with them.'

The experience proved to be a valuable one for Elegar, and he was very thankful for the opportunity the Wizards' organization gave him to showcase his ability.

'I appreciate [the chance the Wizards gave me] a lot,' Elegar said. 'They saw something in me that was good enough for the team to benefit out there so I'm very grateful. It also opens up more doors for me if things don't work out. It's just a matter of making the best of your situations.'

Now, finally back on the east coast, his focus will shift toward the next phase: signing his first professional basketball contract.

'I have to take some time when the jet lag is finally gone to talk to my agent about what's to come in the future,' he said.

But given his past, don't be surprised if Elegar defies the odds once again, navigates a training camp and makes an NBA roster.

Russian Junior National Team opened their European Championship campaign with a comprehensive victory over Ukraine. Thus Russia topped the preliminary Group C. They will next take on Germany, while Ukraine will play against France tomorrow. Russia got to a flying start to the game as Sergey Palkin (191-G-90) and Slepukha teamed up for 10 unanswered points. Russian advantage was overwhelming in the opening minutes as they soon opened a 20:2 lead. Teymuraz Babunashvili (186-G-90) and Andrey Kirdyachkin (204-F-90) capped the first frame with 4 points in a row and Russian team held to a 26:9 advantage. Oleksandr Gudkov (202-F-90) and Osnach cut the distance to 12 points early in the second frame but Russia kept on mounting the pressure and enjoyed a 40:26 advantage at the interval. Sergey Palkin, Grigoriy Andreev (195-G-90) and Evgeny Valiev (204-F-90) fueled a 6:0 run for Russia to open the third quarter and the gap grew to 20 points. Russia breezed to a 61:40 cushion before the final frame. Ukraine looked raw and misbalanced and never seriously threatened the lead in the fourth term. Sergey Palkin paced the winners with 13 points. Andrey Kirdyachkin added 11 points, while Teymuraz Babunashvili scored 9 points in a winning case. Ruslan Otverchenko (192-F-90) netted game-high 17 points for Ukraine. Osnach finished with 13 points in a losing effort. Russia outrebounded Ukraine 48:41 and limited those to just 32% from the field.

Opening day of U18 European Championship division B was successful for Polish. Their rival England showed some weaknesses at the early beginning starting with 0-1 in Preliminary Group C. Except of these two teams, Portugal, Belarus and Romania are also placed in the same pool. Thanks to Sebastian Szymanski (182-G-91) Poland grabbed early 8-17 lead. With three minutes remaining Polish extended it even more while at the last possession in the first stanza they created big plus 16. Both teams continued with the same performance in the second frame so Polish kept their huge lead until the middle of it. British finaly started to play much better and through Bradley Wilkinson (195-F-90) and Wallace closed the gap in the first half on 6 points. British picked up where they left off in the second stanza taking 4 points lead at the middle of third period, 51-47. Thanks to triple at the end of it by Sebastian Szymanski Poland entered into the last frame with 59-61. Game is decided during the next couple of minutes when Polish made crucial 13-2 run taking 12 points lead with 6 minutes remaining.

Sebastian Szymanski was totally the best player in Poland netting 30 points. He had wonderful 50% from behind the arc and the same number he reached shooting from the field. Jaroslaw Mokros (196-F-90) also shined for Poland scoring 23 points including 7 boards while Piotr Pamula (190-G-90) stopped on 14 points and 5 rebounds. Neighbour added 19 points and 8 rebounds for British. The losing side also got 14 points and 9 rebounds from Bradley Wilkinson and 14 points and 6 rebounds from Lawrence. At the next day of the competition Poland will play against Belarus while England will meet Portugal.

Riders to Host International Tournament - by George ManousidisJelson Homes DMU DMU Leicester City Riders Riders will host a four team international pre-season tournament in mid- September, two weeks prior to the start of the BBL campaign.

Three of the four games will take place at John Sandford Sports Centre on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th September and with the other staged in Milton Keynes.

'This is an exciting development for our team and fans alike,' said Paternostro. 'We will get to test ourselves early on against some quality competition and our fans will have the chance to see some top basketball from around the world.'

On Friday night Riders will host Delikatesas at John Sandford, whilst at the same time Milton Keynes will play USA Select at Bletchley Leisure Centre.

Then on Saturday all four sides will be at John Sandford Sports Centre as Riders take on the Americans, whilst Delikatesas will face the Lions.

Tickets for the event cost 10 pounds for Adults and 7 pounds for children per day or 15 for Adults and 10 for children for both days. Saturday's action will also be preceded by a mini-camp for kids to learn the tricks of the trade.

Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Gaiteros del Zulia and Marinos de Anzoategui celebrated their return to home land with victories against Trotamundos de Carabobo and Marinos de Anzoategui in Game 3 of the LPB 2008 Semifinals, as they took the lead in their respective series, 2-1.

Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Marinos de Anzoategui got one step shy of the LPB 2008 Finals, after earning a victory at home over Cocodrilos de Caracas that placed them 3-1 ahead in Semifinal series A, while Trotamundos de Carabobo tied things up against Gaiteros del Zulia (2-2).

Pedro Brito will play for Aguascalientes in Mexico's LNBP - by Francisco VegaBarquisimeto, Venezuela.- Venezuelan power forward Pedro Brito (202-F/C-82) will also be a latin american imported player in the upcoming edition of Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) of Mexico, after he was announced by the general management of Panteras de Aguascalientes alongside Puerto Rican Gabriel Colon (200-G/F-84) and american players Mario Bennett (207-F-73), Tyrone McDaniel (190-G-71) and Devon Ford (193-G-77), all of whom will be coached by Argentinian Diego Riboldi .

Brito is a 26 year-old player, 2.02m tall, who was supposed to take part in the upcoming Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) of Venezuela with Duros de Lara, for whom he averaged 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 23 games last season, in which he also played for them in the South American Clubs Championship held in Brazil. In five games there, he averaged 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

Brito is still active in the LPB 2008 Semifinals with Trotamundos de Carabobo. During the regular season, he played 46 games and averaged 7.3 points, 2.9 boards and 1.3 steals, though he was primarily used coming off the bench by coaches Guillermo Narvarte and Ivan Garcia. A minor foot injury prevented him from making the Senior National Team roster for the South American Championship played at the beginning of July in Puerto Montt, Chile, and in which Venezuela ended at third place, earning a spot for next year's FIBA Americas World Cup Qualy Tournament, to be played in Mexico.

Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Cocodrilos de Caracas maintained themselves in the run for the LPB 2008 Finals by earning a tough victory against Marinos de Anzoategui as visitors in Puerto La Cruz, while Gaiteros del Zulia won against Trotamundos de Carabobo at home and forced to win two in a row at home if they want to continue alive in the tournament.

The Gems return from Taiwan with 3-2 record - by Eurobasket NewsThe Australian Junior National Team completed a successful trip to Taiwan to take part in the William Jones Cup. The young Aussies managed to reach the Final of the tourney where they were narrowly defeated by the hosts. However the Gems earned an invaluable experience and got fit before the upcoming Oceania championship. In their fourth game at the event the Gems prevailed against South Korea. A high-flying first frame resulted in Australia grabbing a 25:18 lead. Australia kept in front and established a 48:41 advantage at halftime. Aussie team went on an 11:0 run in the third period as the margin grew to 22 points at three-quarter time. The Gems enjoyed a 28-point advantage in the fourth term and breezed to an overall win at the end. Elizabeth Cambage knocked down 31 points and pulled down 14 boards to lead Australian Junior Team. Caitlin Rowe (-91) added 20 points, while Bree Farley had 12 in a win. Eun-Hye Kim answered with 29 points for Korea in a loss. Australian then met with Chinese Taipei in the title game. The Gems lost to Taipei earlier in the Cup and looked for revenge. The visitors jumped to an early lead 12:2. Taipei however quickly rebounded and soon took over. Elizabeth Cambage hurt an ankle at the start of the second term and would take no part in the contest. It affected the game and the Gems trailed for the bigger part of the clash. The Aussie team were down by 7 points with under 4 minutes remaining. But some successful offensive plays allowed them to spur in front by one point with 20 seconds left in regulation. Taipei answered with an accurate go-ahead basket with 4 seconds left. Rosie Moult had a chance to win the game but her jumper went off mark and Taipei clinched the title. Stephanie Cumming knocked down 17 points for the Gems. Gaze had 8 points, while Tess Magden nailed 7 points in defeat.

Brazilian Junior National Team bounced back after the starting loss to Canada to deliver their first win at the FIBA Americas Championship in Buenos Aires. Yesterday they posted a dramatic win over the hosts to improve to 1-1 record in the ladder. Argentina entered the game having one victory in store and hoped to stretch the winning streak. But their hopes suffered a major setback in the first frame when Brazilian team burst out with a 17:6 rally to claim the lead. Argentina needed the first intermission to come back to life and answered with a 12:0 run in the second frame to gain the lead. Brazil however secured a narrow 27:26 advantage at halftime. Argentina persisted and soon jumped ahead. They drove to a 45:42 advantage after three quarters of action. The battle turned fierce in the final frame with both teams close to the victory. Argentina spurred ahead late in regulation but Tassia Pereira (175-G-92) tied the score and sent game into overtime. The teams traded baskets in the extra period and were all square at 68 with seconds left. Debora Fernandes (165-G-91) then nailed a basket to lift Brazil up. Debora Gonzalez (170-G-90) had a chance to draw things level in the dying seconds but her free throws missed the mark and Brazil pulled away with an important victory. Tassia Pereira secured 19 points for Brazil. Cristiane Simoes (192-F/C-91) had 15 points, while Tatiane Pacheco (180-G/F-90) added 12 for the winners. Agostina Burani (188-F-91) answered with 14 points for Argentina. Macarena Rosset (178-F-90) came up with 11 points in defeat.

The United States Junior National Team extended their winning streak at the FIBA Americas Championship. Yesterday they defeated Canada in Buenos Aires to celebrate the second straight success. The defense proved a key mechanism in holding off Canada. The USA limited their opponents to 5 points in the second period going on a 24:5 run and building a 21-point lead at halftime. The USA opened the game with a 9:0 rally however Canada quickly bounced back. They answered with a 14:2 outburst to take a 14:11 lead late in the first frame. Shekinna Stricklen (6'2''-F-90) nailed a jumper to cap the first period and the USA team led 19:17 ten minutes into the game. Kelsey Bone (6'5''-C-91) netted 6 points in the second period and the United States side cleared off to a safe distance. The gap just grew bigger in the third period and reached a 24-point mark with a quarter to go. Canada finally outscored their opponents in the fourth term but it was a minor satisfaction for them. Shekinna Stricklen delivered 13 points for the USA. Kelsey Bone added 12 points and 7 boards, while Ashley Corral (5'9''-G-90) had 9 points in a win. Natalie Achonwa (6'2''-F-92) answered with 14 points for Canada. Stephanie Macdonald (5'10''-F) secured 9 points in a loss. The USA now secured the semifinal birth as well as the ticket to U19 FIBA World Championship next year.

Czech Republic National Team finally posted a win at the VTB Cup in Vidnoje, Moscow. After losing two starting games Czech team registered the initial success against Israeli team yesterday. Both teams finished the tournament at 1-2 record. Czech Republic got to a flying start as they outscored their opponents 23:13. The defense played a key role in Czech schemes as they limited Israel to 12 points in the second frame and accumulated a 50:25 advantage at the interval. Czech side held Israeli leaders Liron Cohen (173-G-82) and Liad Suez-Karni (191-F/C-81, college: Villanova) at bay and easily maintained the advantage. A well-balanced offense helped Czech Republic to stretch the margin to 29 points after thirty minutes of action. Israel raised the tempo and managed to cut the deficit to 20 points at the end of the game. Hana Machova (182-F/G-79) nailed 14 points to pace Czech Republic. Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) had 13 points, while Katerina Elhotova (179-G-89) and Jana Vesela (194-F-83) added 12 points apiece in a win. Liron Cohen and Katia Levitsky (190-C-85, college: Villanova) answered with 13 points apiece for Israel. Liad Suez-Karni netted 11 points in defeat. Spain overcame Russia in another game of the day. Thus Spanish team finished on top of the ladder, while Russia clinched the second spot and Czech team secured the third one.

The United States Junior National Team extended their winning streak at the FIBA Americas Championship. Yesterday they defeated Canada in Buenos Aires to celebrate the second straight success. The defense proved a key mechanism in holding off Canada. The USA limited their opponents to 5 points in the second period going on a 24:5 run and building a 21-point lead at halftime. The USA opened the game with a 9:0 rally however Canada quickly bounced back. They answered with a 14:2 outburst to take a 14:11 lead late in the first frame. Shekinna Stricklen (6'2''-F-90) nailed a jumper to cap the first period and the USA team led 19:17 ten minutes into the game. Kelsey Bone (6'5''-C-91) netted 6 points in the second period and the United States side cleared off to a safe distance. The gap just grew bigger in the third period and reached a 24-point mark with a quarter to go. Canada finally outscored their opponents in the fourth term but it was a minor satisfaction for them. Shekinna Stricklen delivered 13 points for the USA. Kelsey Bone added 12 points and 7 boards, while Ashley Corral (5'9''-G-90) had 9 points in a win. Natalie Achonwa (6'2''-F-92) answered with 14 points for Canada. Stephanie Macdonald (5'10''-F) secured 9 points in a loss. The USA now secured the semifinal birth as well as the ticket to U19 FIBA World Championship next year.

Venezuelan Junior National Team celebrated their first win at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina. Yesterday they pounded Puerto Rico to improve to 1-1 record in the ladder. Puerto Rico suffered their second loss in a row and remained at the bottom of the ladder. The teams are fighting for four available spots at the U19 World Championship next year. Venezuela dominated right from the start as they crafted a 24:10 lead after the starting stanza. Puerto Rico looked distressed and could not find their way back in the contest. Venezuela stretched the margin to 27 points at halftime and felt comfortable at the moment. The Boricuas managed to slow down their opponents in the third frame but could not outscore Venezuela. The margin grew to 32 points before the fourth period and Venezuela never looked back again. Cleider Blanco (-C-90) nailed 26 points to lead Venezuela. Yosimar Corrales (-G-90) had 16 points for the winners. Cristina Centeno (175-G-90) answered with 15 points. Rita Acevedo (168-G-92) canned 11 points in a losing effort. Venezuela will face Brazil in the third round of action. Puerto Rico will try to get their first victory at the tournament when they take on the USA later today.

Spanish team scored a comfortable win over hosting Russia and clinched the top spot at the prestigious VTB Cup in Vidnoje yesterday. Russia finished in the second overall spot having lost the first game of the tournament. Both teams got to a quick start of the encounter. Maria Stepanova (202-C-79) scored 6 points to fuel Russian run but Spain stayed close. Laia Palau (178-G/F-79) knocked down two trebles and Spain surged in front 25:20 at the end of the first period. The exchange of baskets continued in the second stanza. However Alba Torrens (191-F-89) and Laia Palau ensured a 49:43 Spanish lead at halftime. Spain kept rolling confidently in the second half. They were deadly from beyond the arc and kept the hosts at bay. Spain entered the fourth period leading 70:62. The visitors opened the final term with an 18:5 run to clear off to an insurmountable distance. Alba Torrens led the charge with 18 points. Ana Montanana (186-F-80, college: George Washington) had 17 points, while Elisa Aguilar (178-G-76, college: George Washington) delivered 11 in a win. Maria Stepanova replied with 18 points for Russia. Svetlana Abrosimova (188-F-80, college: Connecticut) chipped 15 points in defeat.

Spanish team scored a comfortable win over hosting Russia and clinched the top spot at the prestigious VTB Cup in Vidnoje yesterday. Russia finished in the second overall spot having lost the first game of the tournament. Both teams got to a quick start of the encounter. Maria Stepanova (202-C-79) scored 6 points to fuel Russian run but Spain stayed close. Laia Palau (178-G/F-79) knocked down two trebles and Spain surged in front 25:20 at the end of the first period. The exchange of baskets continued in the second stanza. However Alba Torrens (191-F-89) and Laia Palau ensured a 49:43 Spanish lead at halftime. Spain kept rolling confidently in the second half. They were deadly from beyond the arc and kept the hosts at bay. Spain entered the fourth period leading 70:62. The visitors opened the final term with an 18:5 run to clear off to an insurmountable distance. Alba Torrens led the charge with 18 points. Ana Montanana (186-F-80, college: George Washington) had 17 points, while Elisa Aguilar (178-G-76, college: George Washington) delivered 11 in a win. Maria Stepanova replied with 18 points for Russia. Svetlana Abrosimova (188-F-80, college: Connecticut) chipped 15 points in defeat.

FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Day 2 - by Eurobasket NewsUSA U18 - Canada U18 72:56The United States Junior National Team extended their winning streak at the FIBA Americas Championship. Yesterday they defeated Canada in Buenos Aires to celebrate the second straight success. The defense proved a key mechanism in holding off Canada. The USA limited their opponents to 5 points in the second period going on a 24:5 run and building a 21-point lead at halftime. The USA opened the game with a 9:0 rally however Canada quickly bounced back. They answered with a 14:2 outburst to take a 14:11 lead late in the first frame. Shekinna Stricklen (188-F-90) nailed a jumper to cap the first period and the USA team led 19:17 ten minutes into the game. Kelsey Bone (196-C-91) netted 6 points in the second period and the United States side cleared off to a safe distance. The gap just grew bigger in the third period and reached a 24-point mark with a quarter to go. Canada finally outscored their opponents in the fourth term but it was a minor satisfaction for them. Shekinna Stricklen delivered 13 points for the USA. Kelsey Bone added 12 points and 7 boards, while Ashley Corral (175-G-90) had 9 points in a win. Natalie Achonwa (188-F-92) answered with 14 points for Canada. Stephanie Macdonald (177-F) secured 9 points in a loss. The USA now secured the semifinal birth as well as the ticket to U19 FIBA World Championship next year.

Venezuela U18 - Puerto Rico U18 89:52Venezuelan Junior National Team celebrated their first win at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina. Yesterday they pounded Puerto Rico to improve to 1-1 record in the ladder. Puerto Rico suffered their second loss in a row and remained at the bottom of the ladder. The teams are fighting for four available spots at the U19 World Championship next year. Venezuela dominated right from the start as they crafted a 24:10 lead after the starting stanza. Puerto Rico looked distressed and could not find their way back in the contest. Venezuela stretched the margin to 27 points at halftime and felt comfortable at the moment. The Boricuas managed to slow down their opponents in the third frame but could not outscore Venezuela. The margin grew to 32 points before the fourth period and Venezuela never looked back again. Cleider Blanco (-C-90) nailed 26 points to lead Venezuela. Yosimar Corrales (-G-90) had 16 points for the winners. Cristina Centeno (175-G-90) answered with 15 points. Rita Acevedo (168-G-92) canned 11 points in a losing effort. Venezuela will face Brazil in the third round of action. Puerto Rico will try to get their first victory at the tournament when they take on the USA later today.

Argentina U18 - Brazil U18 68:70 (OT)Brazilian Junior National Team bounced back after the starting loss to Canada to deliver their first win at the FIBA Americas Championship in Buenos Aires. Yesterday they posted a dramatic win over the hosts to improve to 1-1 record in the ladder. Argentina entered the game having one victory in store and hoped to stretch the winning streak. But their hopes suffered a major setback in the first frame when Brazilian team burst out with a 17:6 rally to claim the lead. Argentina needed the first intermission to come back to life and answered with a 12:0 run in the second frame to gain the lead. Brazil however secured a narrow 27:26 advantage at halftime. Argentina persisted and soon jumped ahead. They drove to a 45:42 advantage after three quarters of action. The battle turned fierce in the final frame with both teams close to the victory. Argentina spurred ahead late in regulation but Tassia Pereira (175-G-92) tied the score and sent game into overtime. The teams traded baskets in the extra period and were all square at 68 with seconds left. Debora Fernandes then nailed a basket to lift Brazil up. Debora Gonzalez had a chance to draw things level in the dying seconds but her free throws missed the mark and Brazil pulled away with an important victory. Tassia Pereira secured 19 points for Brazil. Cristiane Simoes (192-F/C-91) had 15 points, while Tatiane Pacheco (180-G/F-90) added 12 for the winners. Agostina Burani (188-F-91) answered with 14 points for Argentina. Macarena Rosset (178-F-90) came up with 11 points in defeat.

Venezuelan Junior National Team celebrated their first win at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina. Yesterday they pounded Puerto Rico to improve to 1-1 record in the ladder. Puerto Rico suffered their second loss in a row and remained at the bottom of the ladder. The teams are fighting for four available spots at the U19 World Championship next year. Venezuela dominated right from the start as they crafted a 24:10 lead after the starting stanza. Puerto Rico looked distressed and could not find their way back in the contest. Venezuela stretched the margin to 27 points at halftime and felt comfortable at the moment. The Boricuas managed to slow down their opponents in the third frame but could not outscore Venezuela. The margin grew to 32 points before the fourth period and Venezuela never looked back again. Cleider Blanco (-C-90) nailed 26 points to lead Venezuela. Yosimar Corrales (-G-90) had 16 points for the winners. Cristina Centeno (175-G-90) answered with 15 points. Rita Acevedo (168-G-92) canned 11 points in a losing effort. Venezuela will face Brazil in the third round of action. Puerto Rico will try to get their first victory at the tournament when they take on the USA later today.

Lindsay Whalen (5'8''-G-82, college: Minnesota) (5'8''-G-82, college: Minnesota) scored 13 of her 22 points in the third quarter and the Sun beat the Sparks 87-61 on Thursday night.The Sparks were without Lisa Leslie (6'5''-C-72, college: USC), Candace Parker (6'4''-F/C-86, college: Tennessee), and Delisha Milton-Jones (6'1''-F-74, college: Florida), who were all suspended for one game by the WNBA for their involvement in Tuesday's altercation with the Detroit Shock. The three Olympians combined to average 48 points and 24 rebounds.

Seimone Augustus (6'1''-G-84, college: LSU) scored 25 points to lead the Minnesota Lynx to an 84-80 overtime victory over the Indiana Fever .

Minnesota forward Charde Houston (6'1''-F-86, college: Connecticut) injured her left knee with 51 seconds left in overtime and did not return. She also was taken off the court in a wheelchair. In the overtime, the Lynx took an 81-80 lead on Augustus' jumper with 37 seconds left, and she extended the advantage to three with two free throws. Hoffman's game-tying 3-point attempt with 10 seconds remaining came up short.

Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman showed she still had one nifty pass left in her.The 50-year-old Lieberman had two assists, including a no-look pass in the closing minutes of the Detroit Shock's 79-61 loss to the Houston Comets on Thursday night. Five Shock players were suspended and Cheryl Ford sustained a season-ending injury, prompting coach Bill Laimbeer to offer Lieberman a seven-day contract. 'I had a great time,'' said Lieberman, who missed her only shot, a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. 'It was very historic to be able to do that.'' Lieberman played nine minutes, seven in the fourth quarter, when the game's outcome was decided. The Shock players tried to get her in a position to score every time down the floor at the end, but Lieberman could only get off one shot.